Bellarina
by Princesse2186
Summary: Bella dreams of becoming a Prima Ballerina. She moves to New York with her boyfriend Edward Cullen, trying to pursue their dreams. Soon they will find out that some dreams must just remain at that, and that real happiness is made in reality. AH
1. It starts today

_**Complete Story Summary: Bella dreams of becoming a Prima Ballerina. She moves to New York with her boyfriend, Edward Cullen, trying to pursue their dreams. Soon they will find out that some dreams must just remain at that, and that real happiness is made in reality.**_

_**Ok people, here it is. Just let me ramble a little bit. First of all let me tell you that tomorrow is my birthday, so this is like my present to myself . I'm really happy to finally be able to publish this little thing, that I've had revolving around my head the last 3 or 4 months, so I just hope you enjoy it.**_

_**Thank you very much to my betas, Live720 and Tiffanyanne3. You were great, guys.**_

_**So without further ado I give you my Bellarina.**_

_**Edited. January 2011 (Thank you, Mel)**_

_**-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.**_

_Careful  
Don't Touch  
Only her surface is gentle  
Get too close  
And she'll devour you._

_Grey clouds of smoke  
and fog  
embrace her  
shielding her pretty face  
from the cold  
and the darkness  
of the wintry night._

_She dances  
on broken feet  
_'_The dance of misery'  
while humming sweet lullabies  
and bitter melodies  
creating a tune  
so fixed  
so crazy  
it's almost familiar_

_She twirls  
On red colored pointe shoes  
leaves cracking beneath her feet  
Creating sounds  
so sharp  
and reminiscent  
of broken glass_

_"Dead girls aren't welcome here" by Kelsie Rhodes_

_**Prologue.**_

I never thought I would live to see this. To see her broken… to see her die.

As the broken glass cut her skin, it cut my heart also. Her sobbing screams filled my ears, and the pain only grew. She was dying because of me, I had let all of this happen. If I had only stepped in on time…

How had this come to be? When did her dream become a nightmare?

And because she was my dream, when she died, I died too.

_**Bellarina – Chapter 1**_

_**Edward:**_

Today was the day. Bella would be here any minute now. The anticipation was killing me. Bella was coming to New York, finally moving in with me as soon as she got her acceptance letter from The New York Arts and Drama Academy. We have been planning this… _dreaming_ about it.

She moved to Forks when I was a junior in high school, and she was just starting as a freshman. From the moment I saw her for the first time, waiting tables at the diner, trying to precariously balance glasses on her tray, she looked so innocent and shy, yet she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I was instantly mesmerized with the way she walked-so gracefully, speaking with such kindness and patience to her customers. I knew she was it for me. She was the only girl that made me want to know all of her fears, her dreams, her hopes. The only girl who ever made my heart change its rhythmic pace inside of my chest. Because of that, I was determined to make her mine. We started dating on Christmas Eve of that year, and we've been together ever since.

We had planned to come together to New York since my senior year began. I would be pre-med major and then hopefully go on to medical school at Columbia University, while she would go to the Dance Academy that would eventually lead her to being prima ballerina at the National Ballet Company. That was her dream. And mine was just being next to her for every step of hers.

It's been a rough couple of years with me here in New York and Bella back in Washington. We flew back and forth every couple of weeks religiously to see each other. She flew to New York on the first weekend of every month, and I flew to Forks on the third weekend. We both took part-time jobs to pay for all the plane tickets, although sometimes my parents would pay for them. Still, it was hard as hell only being able to see her four days a month.

Now she was coming to stay.

My phone chirped, alerting me of a text message. Bella was arriving soon.

_Babe, we're 4 blocks away. Wait 4 us downstairs._

_-B_

Chief Swan was coming to drop Bella off and bring in the last of her things. Most of it was delivered last week by the moving company, but he just couldn't miss a chance to remind me what would happen to me if I messed up with his little girl.

I'm not entirely in his good graces either, ever since he caught us going at it on his couch last year. Fortunately for me, she was over eighteen, or I'm almost positive he would have had me arrested on the spot, to say the least. That day, the cruiser had broken down somewhere, forcing him to walk home. We were used to being on alert for the sound of his car, and since he didn't have it that day... _busted_.

He was a little reluctant to have Bella living with me because of that, but it was pointless to argue. He knew we were having sex, so what's the worst that could happen if she moved in? Plus, what's there to argue? I'm a decent guy, I'm pre-med, I've been her steady boyfriend for almost four years. Besides, my parents got me this great apartment in a nice living area near campus, which just happened to be also very close to her academy too.

I was pacing impatiently on the curb outside our building when I saw a cab approach. The second it stopped, the door opened and Bella jumped out of it and into my arms, almost knocking me down.

She hugged me tightly, and I did too. Then she started peppering me with kisses.

"I missed"—_kiss_— "you" —_kiss_— "so much." _Kiss_ "I love" —_kiss_— "you." _Kiss_.

"I missed you too," I whispered in her ear. "You're here."

"Yes." She gazed at me with that look that was just for me—that one where she told me with her eyes _I love you_.

"Hi, baby girl."

"Hey."

Chief Swan cleared his throat quite conspicuously.

"Hello, sir, welcome to New York. Let me just tell you how grateful I am that you allowed Bella to come stay with me." I extended my hand, and he shook it forcefully.

"It's not as if I _allow_ Bella anything, so don't mention it."

"Da-aad!" Bella whined, blushing that perfect pink shade I loved.

"Okay, let's go upstairs," I told them.

I grabbed Bella's suitcases while she carried a light carry-on. Her dad got a couple of boxes.

The ride in the elevator was awkwardly silent. Chief Swan kept fidgeting, while Bella and I stole glances at each other, trying to keep our faces straight.

I lost the battle when, behind her dad's back, Bella mouthed to me, "I'm horny." I immediately started having a coughing fit.

"Easy, son, easy!" the Chief said, patting my back.

"Are you all right, Edward?" Bella asked in a saccharine-sweet voice, looking extremely innocent… cheater.

"Sorry, sorry, nothing's wrong, something just went down the wrong pipe," I said, still gasping for air and inconspicuously glaring at Bella. She simply smirked mischievously.

The elevator doors opened, and we stepped into the hallway that led to our apartment. We walked the few steps toward, I fetched the keys from my pocket and opened the door, stepping aside for Bella and the chief to walk inside.

"Just leave the stuff over here, we'll find them a place later," I said, gesturing for the living room area. "Bella, you can take the master bedroom. Chief, take the guest bedroom, and I'll get the couch."

"Thanks, boy," said the Chief, with a very deep expression on his face. I knew that what he really meant was, _Thanks for not flaunting in my face that you're screwing my daughter six ways to Sunday_.

I just nodded in acknowledgment.

"I thought you guys must be tired, so I got takeout from this really great Italian place around the corner."

"Sounds good to me. Mind if I take a nap before dinner? I'm wiped," the Chief answered, and then yawned quite loudly.

"Not at all, sir."

"Okay, then I'll just go take a shower," Bella said, giving me a sweet peck on the lips.

I went to my study, which was actually just an empty room in which I only had my piano, a couple of bookcases and a desk with my laptop on it. It looked empty, but not for long. I had special plans for this room.

I stood in front of the window looking out into nothing, allowing the fact that the _someday_ we'd been planning for the last four years, had finally arrived to sink in. That day was the day that started the rest of our lives."

_December 23rd. Junior Year of High School. _

_Today was our first date. There wasn't a lot that we could do since it was freezing cold outside. But still, I managed. I took Bella to Seattle to watch the Washington Ballet Company perform "The Nutcracker," and then we went to dinner. _

_We were having a really nice time. She was so easy to hang out with, to talk with, to joke with… and to love. Much too soon, dinner was over, and I hadn't told her yet. I was so nervous to tell her, afraid she might reject me, but I still had to do it. _

_We were just crossing Forks' boundaries, but I couldn't drop her off yet, not until she knew, so I did the first thing that came to my mind. _

"_You know, it's still early, and this day has been so great that I don't want it to end yet. Do you want to hang out at my house for a while? I promise you'll be at home by ten." _

_My family had gone to Port Angeles on a last minute Christmas shopping spree, and they were probably going to spend the night there, so I knew we would have privacy. _

"_Umm… sure. But no funny business, mister!"_

"_Scout's honor," I said, putting two fingers up._

"_Okay… HEY! You're not a scout!"_

"_I guess you'll just have to trust me then." Not that I would ever dream of disrespecting her or hurting her in any way. _

_A couple of minutes later, we arrived at my house. _

"_You could drive at a more decent speed, you know? Especially when I'm riding with you. It would just be freaking priceless to get pulled over by my dad," she rambled as we got out of the car. _

"_Oh, shut up, Bellarina, just get your ass on the couch, and I'll be right back."_

_I opened the door for her, and she stepped into the living room, taking a seat on the couch. I grabbed a blanket from the linen closet and then headed to the kitchen._

_I took a tray and placed chips, some dip, jelly beans, M&M's, a couple of Snicker bars from my sister Rosalie's secret stash, and two cans of Dr. Pepper on it. With the blanket tucked under my arm and the tray secure in both of my hands, I returned to the living room, where Bella was sitting awkwardly on the couch. _

_I set the tray down on one of the side tables, and I moved the coffee table to the side, making room for us to sit on the floor. I spread the blanket there and threw some cushions on it. I sat down in the middle of the blanket, Indian style, patting the place next to me, motioning for Bella to sit. _

"_What are we doing?" she asked, laughing. _

"_We're having a picnic… in my living room… with junk food."_

"_A _lot_ of junk food, if I may say so."_

"_You may. I just love sweet things," I said softly, tucking a strand of her silky hair behind her ear. _

_She blushed, looking down, but she had the most adorable smile on her lips. _

"_Bella, I need to tell you something. And maybe it'll be too much for you, but I have to say it." I ducked my head, trying to hide my embarrassment and possibly avoid the rejection in her eyes if she didn't want me. _

"_I want you to know that you are the most beautiful, amazing girl I've ever met, and I want to make you happy. I know we're way too young, I mean, I'm just seventeen and you're freaking fifteen! But… I just know it. I feel it in my heart. I can even see it in my head… someday… we will go together to New York, you'll be prima ballerina at the National Ballet Company like you've told me so many times, and I'll go to med school at NYU or Columbia. We'll have this cozy apartment where we'll_—"

_My voice cut off in embarrassment after that last part, as I realized I had gotten caught up in my fantasy. I didn't want to scare her with the intensity of my feelings, but the truth was that I knew she would be the woman I would marry, the mother of my children, the person with whom I'd share my life. _

_I looked up to see her reaction. Her face was red and swollen, and her eyes were full of tears, but the smile on her lips was still there, so I continued. _

"_Someday we will go after our dreams and make them come true. And I want to be with you for every step of it. Would you allow me to do so? Will you please be my girlfriend?"_

_She jumped into my arms hugging me tightly. _

"_Of course I will," she answered. _

"_I love you," I whispered in her ear._

"_I love you,__ too," she whispered back_

_I pulled back to look into her beautiful eyes. _

"_Someday, baby girl." _

"_Someday," she replied. _

_Then I kissed her for the first time, trying to tell her with the sweetest of the kisses, that she was my life now._

"What are you thinking about?" Bella said in my ear as she wrapped her arms around me from behind.

"It starts today."

"What does, babe?" she asked.

"Someday… it's today."

"I know," she answered softly.

I turned around to kiss her sweetly, just like the first time, with all the love I had in me. When we pulled back, I just stared at her eyes like I'd always loved to.

"You know, my dad is sleeping like the dead, and I really meant what I told you in the elevator," she said, trying to be nonchalant.

"Ah!" I gasped mockingly, feigning indignation. "You are a mean, _mean_ Bellarina!"

"It's not as if this were the first time you screwed me with my dad two doors away… besides, you love me," she said confidently, knowing she had me with that one.

I held her tightly in my arms and whispered in her ear.

"Truly, I do."

_AN. So what did you think? Did this catch your attention? I hope you enjoyed it._

_I'm not sure about what the update schedule will be, but I'll try to post as soon as possible._

_Caro~_


	2. I love NY

_Hello people, thank you for joining me once again on this ride. I want to shout out to all the people who have alerted and favorite'd this, it means a lot. _

_A huge thanks to my betas Live720 and __Tiffanyanne3. You rock._

_I use some specialized ballet terms, which I'll underline for you to indentify; and then, at the end, I'll explain each term in a glossary._

_Disclaimer: I own a knitting machine and a hell hole lot of yarn, but not Twilight._

_Ok, here it is. I hope you like it._

_**Bellarina. Chapter 2.**_

_**Bella:**_

I was so excited to be in New York. It wasn't my first time here, but it was very different. I was now an official inhabitant of New York City. I could have been anywhere, Cuba for all I cared; the important thing was that I was with Edward. It didn't hurt that we were both going to our dream schools, but I was by his side now, and I would never leave.

I remember when I moved to Forks. It was so depressing at first. Not only was it always gloomy, rainy, and cold, but there were also no dancing studios in town. I almost wanted to hang myself from the tallest tree I could find.

I found on the Internet that the closest ballet studio was in Port Angeles. Since classes there didn't start until the school year did, I got a job to try and save some gas money for the trips. My truck was ancient and not in the best condition, so I knew it wouldn't be cheap.

I waited tables at a small Forks' diner. It was an okay job. The pay was _okay_, the tips were _okay_, and come to think of it, absolutely everything about Forks was always just _okay_. Ever since I moved there my life seemed so dull and boring.

That is, until I saw _him_.

_**August. Freshman year of high school**__**.**_

_It was a regular __Wednesday at the diner. Today's special was meatloaf and strawberry cobbler, so we had a few more customers than usual. I was sitting on a stool at the counter, refilling the sugar containers, when the little bells above the door chimed, announcing a new customer. I turned around instinctively to see who had come in. _

_It was like everything I had seen so far was black and white, and I was seeing color for the first time. _Green_… his eyes were so green and deep, just like a forest in which you could get lost easily. His hair had the most rare, but beautiful, auburn shade. It looked so soft,_ _practically screaming at my fingertips to run their way through every last strand__. He wore khaki cargo shorts, which showed his muscular calves. The tightness of his t-shirt allowed me to see that his upper body was really toned as well. It made me wonder if he was a swimmer, or if he ran track or just worked out at the gym. _

_The truth was I wanted to know all about him; his likes, his dislikes, his dreams, his desires…_

_Then I noticed the gorgeous blonde who had his arm around her shoulders. My heart instantly felt like a chunk was bitten off,_ _although I knew I was being ridiculous. How could a guy like him not have a girlfriend? More importantly, why on earth would he even notice someone as plain as me?_

_I tried to focus on what I was doing. I finished filling up the last sugar container__ and went to clean the tables in my section for the third time, trying to distract myself from him. _

_They sat in my friend Angela's section, and I noticed they_ _simply each ordered a single piece of cobbler__, but they stayed for an entire hour, until the blonde began bitching. He threw a bill on the table, and they stood up. I stared as they walked gracefully to his car. There was something about their mannerisms, the way they moved, that was so… similar, but I just couldn't quite put my finger on it. I guess they were just a really attuned couple. _

_He came back on Friday. This time he was alone and he sat in my section._ _I nervously walked to his table, staring down at my notepad, too afraid_ _to look him in the eyes for fear that I would start drooling__._

"_Hi, are you ready to order?" I asked him. _

"_Yes, thank you. I would like a slice of apple pie, please."_

_I was hypnotized by the deep, masculine tone of his voice. I imagined him saying my name, whispering sweet nothings in my ear…_

"_Sure, coming right up," I said hastily, and almost sprinted to the kitchen, trying to escape the dazzling spell his mere presence put me in. _

_I grabbed the Tupperware that I had conveniently hidden at the back of the shelves. To be honest, we had been out of apple pie for a couple of hours, and I had saved the last piece for Charlie, but there was something about __this boy,__that I just couldn't say no to._

_He came again on Saturday and Sunday._ _Both times he sat at the same table in my section, asking for a piece of pie__. __I started noticing that he often looked at me a beat longer than what was necessary, and he even started smiling warmly at me when he caught me in my staring_. _I wondered if his girlfriend would be offended by our little exchanges. _

_Needless to say, you can imagine my surprise when school started and I saw him sitting in the middle of the cafetería, with the same gorgeous blonde by his side._

"_Looks like the Cullen twins have a special interest in you," Angela said to me. _

"_Who?" I asked. I was already picturing two grotesque boys with equal outfits and nerdy glasses. _

"_Edward and Rosalie Cullen? Gorgeous blonde and bronze-h__-h-__aired male model staring at you this very minute."_

Twins_?! It was his sister all along! I could have done a full round of __fouettés__ in the middle of the __cafeteria from how excited I had gotten__. _

_I turned around to sneak a peek at them. He was still looking at me with a soft expression in his eyes. Rosalie was looking at me too, then turned to Edward, and back to me. She slapped his arm and bolted out of the cafeteria. _

"_He's been asking around about you. He even asked to be specifically seated in your section at the diner," Angela said._

_I was dumbstruck. I couldn't believe he could actually be interested in me. I looked up to him and smiled. And as if my crush hadn't been big enough, he smiled back, the most beautiful crooked grin I've ever seen. I knew right there that it wouldn't take much time to fall irrevocably in love with him. _

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The day after our arrival in New York, my dad had to return to Forks. Since he was the Chief of Police, he couldn't be out of town for too many days, and we had already spent one packing back home.

"Be careful, Bells, New York is a big city. This isn't like Forks, and the crime rate is-"

"Don't worry, Chief," Edward cut off his rambling. "She'll be safe with me, I promise."

"Okay, I trust you son, just remember that this is my baby and I do own a shotgun."

"DAD!" I scolded him.

As soon as I said that, his flight was announced. We shared our last hugs and kisses, and said our goodbyes.

After that, Edward and I went grocery shopping together for the first time. I noticed that his… our fridge was practically empty. Only the freezer was stuffed with microwavable meals. I wonder how he survived off of that stuff for two years without having a coronary.

As we were strolling down the aisles, Edward kept throwing cookies, candy, chocolates and sugar-s-saturated cereal into the cart. I just kept putting them back.

"For a pre-med guy, you would think you'd eat healthier," I said to him.

"You know I love sweets," he answered nonchalantly.

"You can still have that, just throw something nutritious in there too," I told him, while I put the Frosted Flakes back on the shelf.

"Bel-la! My Frosties!" He whined, pouting adorably like a two year old.

I eventually managed to compromise with him. He could have one box of cookies if we got veggies, and he agreed to get the turkey bacon instead of regular. I had to keep my man healthy, especially if we could now make our special nights a daily occasion.

As I was placing our items on the conveyor belt at the checkout, Edward cleared his throat behind me. I turned around to find him looking at me with a raised eyebrow, holding up a box of strawberry Pop Tarts that I put in the cart without him noticing.

"If you can have this, I can have my Dr. Pepper," he said, commanding.

I pondered it for a second before answering, but it was a lost battle. I needed my Tarts.

"UGH! Fine! But you'll pay for this, Cullen… you don't mess with a woman's Pop Tarts," I threatened.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three weeks had passed since I arrived. The happiest three weeks of my life. Edward and I hadn't spent a single moment apart. He took me sightseeing to every possible place he could think of. I also met Peter and Charlotte, our neighbors, who were great friends of Edward. But the best part of these three weeks? We made love every night, falling asleep naked, in each other's arms.

That was a first for our relationship. Back in high school, and when he went back to Forks to visit me, we couldn't spend the night. I could just imagine what my Dad –or his shotgun– would've had to say if he found us butt-naked in my bedroom. It was embarrassing enough that he caught us last year on his couch, with my skirt up to my waist, straddling Edward who had his hands on my ass. He tried to ban him from the house, but when I threatened to move out, he had no other choice but to grasp the fact that we were a package deal.

When I started visiting him in New York, I rarely came by myself, most of the time tagging along with his family. When I did, sure, we spent the night together, but it was always shadowed by the fact that I had to leave hours later. Those days were over now.

Today was the last Sunday before school started. Well, Edward was going back, I was going for the first time.

We had breakfast in bed and then took a shower together… along with some nice shower sex. By noon, we were outside the apartment building, trying to catch a cab. We were going to spend the day at the Guggenheim.

The day was great, and the art at the museum was amazing. I loved museums, and Edward knew it, but by the time we got to the apartment around seven, we were spent. Since we were not really in the mood for cooking, we got some pizza from the Italian place around the corner, and had a living room picnic just like the one from our very first date.

We were eating in comfortable silence, when Edward suddenly said, "For someone so thin, you can sure hold your pizza."

"Hey! A girl's got to eat. Plus, this is amazing, best pizza I've ever had," I said stuffing my mouth in a very unladylike manner.

"I'm just wondering where all of that is going. Do you have a hollow leg or something?" he teased.

"Pretty much, but it's no problem really. Tomorrow I'll start training again and I'll burn it in no time."

"I got you something," he blurted out.

"What?" I asked, still confused by his sudden change of subject.

"I got you a present."

"What? Why?" He knew I didn't like him spending money on me.

"Wait here, let me get it."

He got up, still not answering my question. I watched him as he walked to the linen closet, reaching above his head and pulling out a stack of folded sheets. I was just about to ask him what he was doing, when I noticed him pull out a box that was evidentally hidden in the back of the closet. He took it out and placed everything else in place again.

"I got you this as a welcome gift, but if you don't like it, I can return it and we can get something you pick out yourself…" he trailed off, sighing, as he handed me the present.

I quickly tore the gift paper, to find underneath a slim black box. I opened it nervously. The most beautiful bright red pointes sat at the bottom of the box, in between thin white paper.

"Oh my god, Edward," I said, almost in a whisper. I lifted my gaze to meet his, and he was looking at me with such adoration that I couldn't help the tear that escaped my eye.

"I wanted to be a part of your dream," he said softly.

"Edward, you are the biggest part of my dream. I don't need the academy, or New York, or being prima ballerina. I just need you."

"I love you, my beautiful Bellarina."

"I love you too."

"You haven't said anything about the shoes."

"They're called pointé, Edward… and I love them, they're perfect. In fact, I think I'm going to try them on right now." I pecked him on the lips and almost ran to the bedroom, with my pointés in hand. I rummaged through my lingerie drawer until I found the perfect black baby doll, which would just make Edward go crazy. It was lacy, transparent and pushed up my almost nonexistent breasts beautifully, making them look like I had some actual cleavage. I quickly put on my pointés, not bothering with any padding, since I was not actually dancing… in the literal way.

I opened up the bedroom door, and he looked up at me. His eyes went wide and his lips parted. I danced seductively, with slow, sexy movements, brushing my hands through my hair, and going down to my neck, my breasts and then my hips. I turned around and bent over all the way down, giving him a great view of my ass. I knew he loved my ass. He said it was his favorite part of my body.

I stood up torturously slowly, caressing my legs in the process. I could see that Edward was breathing hard, looking at me through half-lidded eyes. Then I walked to him, swaying my hips, and continuing with the suggestive movements of my arms, until I reached him.

He placed a hand on my hip, still looking me up and down lustfully. I stood en pointé, and balancing against his hand, I raised one leg over my head, bit by bit. He grabbed my leg, resting it on his shoulder, then he caressed it, from the tip of my foot all the way to my thigh.

Being en pointé gave me the perfect height to press myself against his already hard erection, exactly where I needed it. A low moan vibrated in my chest, and with that, Edward lowered the leg that I had resting on his shoulder to his waist. Then with his other hand, he grabbed my other leg, lifting me up. I locked my ankles around him and tangled my hands in his hair, as we kissed furiously all the way to the bedroom.

Even after four years, he could still light me on fire. After the hundreds of times we've made love, every time was as good as the first; I still gasped when he entered me, and I still had to wait a moment to adjust to his size.

Our clothes flew around the apartment as our frenzied hands searched for skin on skin contact. He threw me on the bed, and he was quickly over me, kissing my neck, pinching my nipples, and caressing my thighs and ass. I opened my legs for him, and I could feel his tip, right _there_.

I wasn't much of a dirty talker. That was more of his thing, but he knew how to make me moan… and loud. I almost screamed when he penetrated me in one swift movement.

He kept still for a moment, letting me adjust to him. He was nice and big… and deliciously thick. We stared into each other's eyes, and it made it all the more intense. Slowly, very slowly, and never breaking the eye contact, he began pulling out, and then in again. He was making slow, sensual love to me, instead of the animalistic sex I was anticipating. But this was so much better. At this pace, I could feel every inch of him moving inside me. His slow, hard and oh-s—o-deep thrusts sent me over the edge in no time.

"Ungh… baby." I threw my head back in pleasure, still spasming around him.

"Jesus Christ, Bella. You feel… so good… Fuck!" He was still thrusting inside me, but he was close… and so was I, _again_.

"I'm close baby, come with me," he panted.

"I'm coming… yes! Yes! YES! AAh!" I yelled and he groaned in ecstasy as we reached our orgasm together. He lay on top of me, still inside of me, both of us panting.

"I… I love you," I said to him, breathless.

"I love you too, baby girl, so much."

We kissed slowly but passionately, trying to pour our feelings into that kiss. We continued to whisper words of love to each other, until we fell asleep… naked, in each other's arms. _The best part of my day_.

* * *

**_So what did you think? Leave me a review._**

**_Dont forget to check my profile for videos and outfits  
_**

**_Glossary for Chapter 2._ **

**Fouetté :**

Literally "whipped". The term indicates either a turn with a quick change in the direction of the working leg as it passes in front of or behind the supporting leg, or a quick whipping around of the body from one direction to another. There are many kinds of fouetté: petit fouetté (à terre, en demi-pointe or sauté) and grand fouetté (sauté, relevé or en tournant).

**Pointe**:

Special ballet shoes with flat, hard point.

**En pointe:**

Performing steps while on the tips of the toes, using a special blocked shoe.


	3. Welcome to the Academy

**Hello, hello, my lovely readers! First of all, an apology is in order for the delay. I meant to post this since Friday, but you know, life happens sometimes.**

**I want to give a shout out to Bella's Executioner, who very kindly let me vent out about something really disturbing I found. Her story Bookends is one of the best things I've read, so please do it.**

**My betas, Live720 and Tiffanyanne3, you are so great, girls.**

**Disclaimer: I own a red bag that I carry around everywhere, but not Twilight.**

_**Just as with previous chapter, underlined words are ballet specialized terms that will be fully explained in a glossary at the end of the chapter.**_

**Bellarina Chapter 3**

_**Edward**_**:**

On Monday we got up at eight. Thank God, both our classes didn't start until late morning, so we didn't have to get up at the break of dawn. We decided to take separate showers, because if they were together… well, we wouldn't have made it in time.

I was sitting at our little kitchen table, reading the paper. I had already showered and was just waiting for her to start eating breakfast. I had cooked some eggs, coffee and sliced some fruit, since she liked it fresh every morning.

She came out of the bedroom, already dressed and ready for her dance classes. Her hair was damp from the shower and her cheeks flushed from the hot water. She was wearing her black leotard and black tights. On top of the tights she had pink loose capri sweatpants, and then I noticed her shoes. I just stared curiously at her bright pink Crocs.

"Don't laugh, you ass. I need something that I can slip on and off easily," she said to me. The amusement on my face must've been too evident.

"I didn't say anything," I replied, trying to keep a straight face, but failing miserably. They were so fucking ugly and she looked damn cute in them.

"But you were thinking about it! I know it!" she said, glaring at me.

"Oh, you can read my mind now, _Madame Bellarina_?"

She just narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger at me, telling me with her gesture to stop being a smartass. I smiled lovingly at her, letting her know that I was just fooling with her, then I pulled her into my arms and kissed her chastely.

"Let's get some breakfast. You're going to need your energy today," I said to her, while I pulled a chair from the kitchen table, and gestured for her to sit.

"I know! I'm so excited! I love my classes. Can you believe I'm going to be taking pilates? _Pilates for dancers_," she said the name of the class with a fake voice. "It sounds so snobbish."

"I'm sure it won't be so bad," I told her, trying to encourage her.

"I know, I'm just nervous. So how's your schedule?"

"Not too bad. I'm out by 7:30."

"I guess I can have a nice dinner ready for my man when he comes home then," she said in a low sexy voice.

"That would be great, baby girl," I answered, giving her a peck on the lips across the table.

I walked her to the Academy, and I just had enough time to get to my own class in time. When I got to my classroom, my good friend Ben Cheney was already there.

"Ed! My man! How was the summer?" We bumped fists, and I took a seat next to him.

"Awesome. Bella moved in with me."

"_Bella_? As in, your girl, Bella?" he asked, surprised. I just nodded. "That's great, dude! So how is it? The sex decreasing already? You know what they say…"

I slapped him in the back of the head before I answered. "It's been great man. And no, the sex has not decreased, not in the slightest… We're still getting used to living together, you know? Little habits… like, she goes ballistic when I drink from the carton, but why get a glass dirty, when I just want a sip?"

"Chicks…" he said knowingly, nodding his head slowly.

"And I'm always tripping with her shoes all over the place. I still don't get why they need so many pairs. Is one pair in each color not enough? But, all that aside, it's been great, man. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"I'm happy for you, Edward."

_**Bella**_:

Edward and I walked together to the Academy. When we reached the big, concrete staircase in front of the building, he kissed me goodbye and rushed to his own classes.

My first class was "Dance composition". I grabbed my schedule and my little campus map, and headed to my classroom; it was actually a really, really big dancing studio with light honey hardwood floor and floor-to-ceiling mirrors on one of the walls.

There was a small door inside that said "Dressing locker", so I went inside there to get ready. I took off my Crocs and sweatpants, and took out my red pointes, placing them by my side as I put the padding on.

"Those are really beautiful," a deep voice with a thick Latin accent said. I looked up to see an "Amazon-like" girl with really long legs and arms. She had black hair, which was braided neatly, but the most shocking thing about her was the contrast between her olive eyes and coffee-colored skin.

"Oh, thank you! My boyfriend just gave them to me yesterday. Bella Swan," I said, extending my hand to her.

"Zafrina Da Silva," she replied, as she shook my hand firmly, but warmly.

We made small talk while we stretched, waiting for class to begin. I learned that she was an exchange student from Brazil, and that she was only here for a year. Just like me, she didn't know anyone else.

The class was, to say the least… different, weird actually… _crazy_. The teacher, Marcus Nielsen, was a very gay dude with bright yellow tights, and he had us running all over the room chasing imaginary dots. Then we had to freeze in weird positions. The point of the class, supposedly, was to learn how to improvise, but the only thing improvised here seemed to be the class itself.

Luckily, Zafrina and I had almost the same schedule, so we just stuck together. We walked to our next class, which was Pilates. The classroom was pretty much like the other one, but in this one there were yoga mats placed in neat rows on the floor.

When we had taken our shoes off –I chose to keep my sweatpants on this time- Zafrina and I took our places in the third row, waiting for class to begin.

All of a sudden, this short pixie-like girl took the spot on the other side of me. She was really thin, with small features and perfect, porcelain skin. Her hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.

"Hi guys! I'm Alice," she said to us, waving frantically.

"Hi Alice. I'm Bella, and this is Zafrina."

"Nice to meet you," Zafrina responded politely.

"Ooh, sexy accent! Brazilian, right? I once went there on vacation and met this gorgeous guy in Curitiba. Ungh! Best sex of my life, until Jasper that is. Hey, have you taken Pilates before? I took this class last year, and it's so cool, it really helps to elongate your extensions." She stopped for a moment, looking both of us in the eyes. "We're going to be great friends, I just know it."

The class was exhausting and relaxing at the same time, since you needed a lot of strength to maintain some of the positions, while others felt really good, stretching every muscle.

Alice didn't join us in our next class, "Advanced Ballet technique", as she was in Contemporary, while Zafrina and I were in the Classical program.

We walked into the changing room to put our pointes on. As I was doing so, I felt someone staring down at me. When I looked up, I found a skinny girl, with almost white-blonde hair, eyeing my red pointes in a way that made me uncomfortable. I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and do the polite thing.

"Hi, Bella Swan." I extended my hand to her, and she just stared at it like she was repulsed, then she gave me a rude head-to-toes look. I knew she wasn't interested at all in being friends with me, nor was I with her, after her attitude, so I withdrew my hand.

"_Belly_…" She said with a horribly nasal voice. "It suits you, since you have this horrible beer gut. Eww. You should really watch your carbs, Belly." With that, she turned around and stalked out of the dressing room.

I just stood there, looking at where she had been standing, dumbstruck by her cruel demeanor.

"Don't listen to Jane, she's a nasty bitch. She actually does that to every girl that's prettier than her," someone beside me said. "I'm Stefan."

"Bella."

"I know, I heard. And you are _so_ not fat. Don't let her get to you." I smiled at Stefan as he walked next to Zafrina and me to the classroom.

Stefan was… let's just say he was probably more feminine than I was, but he was really cool. As we did our warm-up, he updated Zafrina and me on all the rumors flying around. He really was the eyes and ears of the place.

As the class began, I welcomed the normalcy of classical ballet. The teacher, Penelope Mirren, was a former prima ballerina from the Royal Ballet Company in England. She was really strict, observing closely our every move in order to make us better, and as she exemplified the variations, I couldn't help to notice how perfect her movements were.

The last class, "Biomechanics for the dancer", was boring as hell. It was in a lab, for God's sake, with a nerdy guy babbling medical terms and flinging around a plastic skeleton model. It probably should be Edward sitting here instead of me.

It wasn't so bad though, since the four of us –Zafrina, Alice, Stefan and I-, were together in that class. We kept whispering and giggling, earning several dirty looks from Mr. Nerdy, whose name I later learned was Dr. Andrew Riley… _who cares__?_

We got out at four, and by that time I was really tired. As I rushed to the apartment, eager for a hot, soothing shower, I quickly texted Edward, letting him know that I would be home shortly and that I missed him. No more than two minutes later he texted back.

_Miss u 2 beautiful. B there by 7:30_

_-E_

As I opened the door of our home, I couldn't help feeling weird to be in the apartment without Edward. I lazily showered and changed into pajama shorts and a tank top, not really bothering with underwear since I wanted to be as comfortable as possible.

I went to his studio and grabbed a book from the shelves, then sat down in the living room and lost myself in the reading. I must have drifted off, because all of a sudden, my cell phone read 7:10. I sprinted to the kitchen to start dinner, since I had promised Edward that I would have it ready for him when he came home. I opted for Bolognese spaghetti, since it was easy, fast and one of his favorite dishes.

At 7:35, I heard the door open, and a couple of seconds later I was being pulled back by two strong arms.

"Hey, sexy," Edward cooed in my ear.

"Hi."

"Are you expecting someone? Because you look like you want someone to fuck you, _right here_, on the kitchen table."

I hadn't expected this reaction from him, but his suggestion sounded damn good. Maybe the lack of underwear had been a good idea.

"Maybe I am," I responded coyly.

Needless to say, dinner was completely forgotten. He pressed me back to him, and I could feel him already hard and ready for me.

"I want to come home, everyday to this; to _you_, wearing these 'fuck me' shorts." His hand snaked underneath them, and he realized I had no panties on. "Fuck," he hissed. "You are a very naughty girl, Bellarina."

"Uh-huh," I whimpered, incapable of responding in a more coherent way.

He bent me over the kitchen table shoving my shorts down, and spanking me once… twice… three times.

"Did a lot of guys ogle you today?" he asked in a sexy, commanding voice. I couldn't even answer; I was about to spontaneously combust.

"I bet a hell of a lot of guys eye-fucked you in your little tight leotard. Just remember you are MINE."

I was dying from the anticipation, whimpering and panting like crazy. Without any notice, he pounded hard into me. It turned me on so much, that he couldn't even wait to get naked to be inside of me, he just needed me _that_ much.

"Aah!" I moaned loudly, and it just spurred him on, making him thrust harder and faster into me.

The table started shaking, almost giving in from the force of his attacks. I was gripping the edge of it so hard that I thought I would take a chunk off, but I couldn't care less. He grabbed one of my breasts with one hand, pinching my nipple, and with the other hand, he rubbed my clit roughly.

"Oh… OH! Ed… EDWA... AAH!! EDWAAARD!" I felt myself tightening violently around him, and he pushed deeper within me, as his own orgasm took over him.

He fell to his knees, pulling me down with him, in order to regain our breaths.

"Welcome… home," I whispered, still panting. He pulled me back into his chest, with both of his arms around my waist while he nuzzled my neck. I stretched up my arm to caress the back of his head.

"Please do welcome me like that every day," he responded, making both of us laugh.

After we straightened our clothes, we decided to have a little living room picnic again, since the kitchen table was now a little… _unsanitary_.

I talked on and on about my day, while Edward just listened, amused, chuckling about my remarks on Stefan, Mr. Nielsen and Jane. We finished dinner, and after cleaning up the kitchen –and ourselves-, we went to bed. I rested my head on his lap as he studied and played absently with my hair.

"Do you think I'm fat?" I blurted out of nowhere.

He put his book down on the night table and looked seriously at me. "Where did this come from, Bella?"

"I don't know…" I answered sheepishly. "Jane said to me that I had like a gut, and I guess it's not true… I mean, I eat healthily, I work out… but, I don't know, it's just… it just caught me off guard," I rambled.

"Let me tell you that this Jane person definitely has to have her eyes checked. Your stomach is flat as a board and you are definitely not fat," he said to me, cradling my face is his hands.

"But why would some-"

"Bella," he interrupted me, "you are a lot of things, and fat is not one of them. You are so damned stubborn," he said as he kissed my temple. "Intelligent," trailing his kisses down my cheek. "So cute when you pout like a two year old," giving me a sweet, chaste kiss on the lips.

"You are the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on," he said, as he placed open mouthed kisses on my neck, and with his hands, he caressed my shoulders and collarbones. He started pulling down the straps of my tank top, until he exposed my breasts, his fingers finding them in no time, making me moan.

"You are so incredibly sexy," he said against my skin before he took my nipple in his mouth. Trailing down, he kissed my stomach, "and damn irresistible." He pulled down my shorts as he went, then he bent up my knees, while caressing my legs and spreading them open for him. "And you are so…" He lightly grazed my clit with the tip of his nose, "fucking…" then the tip of his tongue touched me ever so lightly, "delicious."

With that, he dove in for real, licking thoroughly up and down the insides of my lips,

before he started working my clit. He licked, nipped, and sucked it gently, pleasuring me relentlessly. I was screaming with desire, my head rolling from side to side uncontrollably, while he held my hips down. He slipped a finger inside of me, making me gasp, then another… and then, another. His long, pianist fingers reached very deep inside me, and after sliding them in and out a couple of times, he curled them, hitting my g-spot. I let out a throaty moan as I clenched around his fingers, feeling the moisture leak to the top of my thighs.

As we laid down to sleep –not before I took care of his needs, too, of course,- I thought about what Jane had said. If a guy like Edward desired me as he did, even after four years, then something must be _right_ with me; so Jane could fuck off. Feeling a renewed sense of confidence, I drifted off to sleep. I just hoped it lasted.

Tuesday was a new day. I let the bad feelings about yesterday slip away and just kept my spirits high.

Edward and I walked together to the Academy again, but today he would pick me up, since we got out around the same time. He gave me a not-so-chaste kiss before heading to his campus.

I was looking forward to my first class. Victoria Von Wobeser, one of my childhood idols, was going to be my teacher. I was very proud of getting into her class, since it was usually only for juniors and seniors, but I guess I was just that good. Sadly, Zafrina wasn't able to get into this class, but on the other hand, neither did Jane.

We were all positioned against the bar, stretching and doing basic warm-up, when Mrs. Von Wobeser walked in. She looked around to see everyone in the classroom, and then her gaze lingered on me, looking me up and down.

"As of next class, in my classroom, you will all wear the classical uniform. That is black leotard, pink tights and pink pointes; men, all in black. Is that understood?" Her eyes never left mine, as if what she had just said was only because of me.

"We start with our plies in first position, demi en avant and stretch, demi a la seconde and stretch, grande-plié, full port de bras en avant, full port de bras en arrière; the same in second, third and fourth position. Then we will rise and take a balance in fifth," she instructed, as she took a place on the bar and exemplified the movements.

Soft Mozart notes started filling the classroom, and we all began working in rhythm with the music.

All of a sudden, the teacher shrieked "STOP!" startling everyone in the room. "Freeze in your positions," she said, calmer now, walking slowly around, checking our positions. "If you could all be kind enough to look at little miss red shoes, over here." Little miss red shoes, being me.

I blushed furiously at her humiliating instruction, but I held on to the dignity I had left by keeping my position and my gaze up front.

"This is exactly how _not_ to position your arms. See the stiffness of her hands and the weakness of her arms?" she asked everyone while trying to shove one of my arms down. It didn't move an inch, proving her nasty ass comment wrong, but she wouldn't acknowledge it.

"A ballet dancer's arms must be strong as the branches of a tree, nothing must move them; while the hands have to be soft as the leaves, delicate in their movements, as if it was the wind moving them. Tanya dear, would you please demonstrate the correct form of the movement?"

A beautiful, strawberry blonde girl walked gracefully to the center of the classroom. She was extremely thin, and it made her look that much more delicate. As soon as she positioned her arms, it was clear that she was a very talented ballerina. Her movements were absolutely flawless, her knees in a perfect straight line with her shoulders, bending easily all the way down and her arms flailing elegantly with each position.

Everyone stared in awe at Tanya as she performed the variation with no visible effort. Mrs. Von Wobeser stood beside me and said in a disrespectful tone to me, "I suggest you work on your technique, _Dorothy_," she said, obviously in reference to my red pointe. "Perhaps you are not ready for this class."

Even though she had said it really low, I knew everyone heard, because I could hear giggling and whispering around me.

When the class was over, I stormed out of the room, only to be stopped by Tanya in the hallway.

"Maybe you should leave the advanced class to the _advanced_ ones. You know, there is a class that might be able to take you, with your level of technique. It's called 'Introduction to Ballet'," Tanya said to me, laughing maliciously and turning her back to me. "Goodbye, Dorothy!" she called over her shoulder. Several people that were around us laughed, making my humiliation even bigger.

I tried to keep a straight face as I walked to my next class, "World dance history." Alice and Zafrina were already in the room, saving me a seat. As soon as I sat down, they noticed something was wrong with me. I couldn't lie, but I also didn't want to talk about how thoroughly humiliated I had been… more than once. They understood and didn't pry anymore.

The rest of the day passed by uneventfully. I was actually paying very little attention, because I was still stunned with what happened earlier with Mrs. Von Wobeser and Tanya.

In our "Anatomy for movement" class, I joked around with Alice, Zafrina and Stefan, just like we had yesterday, but only half-heartedly on my part. We had the same nerdy teacher from the Biomechanics class from yesterday, so it was also boring as hell.

Just to put the cherry on top of my freaking great day, when I crossed the doors of the Academy to meet Edward, I watched Jane whoring herself at my boyfriend. _I saw red._

Jane was tip-toeing her fingers across Edward's arm, looking up to him through her lashes. He just stood there, completely uncomfortable and looking slightly disgusted.

"_Jane_," I said sternly, standing behind her. Realization crossed through Edward as he acknowledged who he was standing next to.

"I'm busy, Belly," she said in a sing-song voice, failing miserably to sound sweet.

"You called my girlfriend _fat_?" Edward asked her in that calm/menacing tone he often used on guys who hit on me. Jane's movements stopped, and her eyes went wide as she realized that _I_ was the girlfriend that Edward was talking about.

"I was right, Bella, she does need to get her sight checked." He gave her a conspicuous head to toes look, before continuing. "She has at least five pounds on you."

He pulled me to his side, and we walked away, not looking back once at Jane.

The high of getting back at Jane didn't last long, as the humiliation I felt this morning came back to me. Edward noticed the change in my demeanor immediately.

"What's wrong, baby girl?" he asked, concerned.

"It's nothing, I'm just tired," I lied.

"Okay," he responded, not really buying my crap.

We were already at the door of our apartment, and as soon as we were inside, I threw myself on the couch and hid my face in a cushion.

"AAAAAHHH!!!" I screamed into it. As my scream faded out, Edward gently pulled the cushion away.

"What happened, Bella?"

My eyes were already filling with tears. I took a big breath before answering.

"Do you remember who Victoria Von Wobeser is?" I asked him, my voice breaking a little.

"How could I not. You rambled for hours about the woman, how you admired her, and wanted to be just like her," he said lightly, trying to cheer me up.

"And did I tell you she is one of my teachers?"

"Really?" he asked, amused, but he noticed that my tone was still sad. "Why are you upset about it?"

"She totally humiliated me today in class."

"What?!" He was angry now.

I told him everything, from the way she glared at me at the beginning of the class, to how she made fun of me with her 'Dorothy' remark.

"And I can't believe I actually felt admiration for her. She is obviously not what I thought…" My voice was gradually toning up, as I replayed everything to Edward.

He just sat there listening, like he always did, letting me get everything out.

"Who the hell does she think she is? A _bitch_, that's who she is! My godamned port de bras is perfect, Edward, PERFECT! And my technique is every bit as good as anyone else's in that class, maybe even better. I wouldn't have gotten into the class in the first place if it wasn't."

I was sobbing uncontrollably now. Edward held me tightly and whispered soothing words in my ear, until I eventually calmed down.

"Bella, what that bitch did to you was inexcusable, unethical and so fucking low, but you can't let her get to you. This is your dream. Don't let her taint it or even try to take it away. You have to fight for it, and I know it won't be easy, but you'll never have to do it alone. I'll be by your side always. I'll hold your hand, let you cry, make you laugh… I'll even rub your smelly feet!" I let out a strangled attempt of a chuckle with his last comment.

"Never forget that I love you, and I'll always have your back," he said, looking deeply into my eyes.

I started crying again, but this time from the love and sincerity in Edward's voice.

"I… I love… you too… Edward… so… much," I said between sobs and hiccups.

He carried me to bed, undressed me and tucked me in. After a minute he curled behind me, holding me really tight.

Edward loved me, and his love made me stronger. Tomorrow, I had another chance at pursuing my dream, but this time I knew Edward was beside me, and I would make sure no one stood in our way.  
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_**So there we have it. Week 1 at the academy. And we got to see a little Kinkyward. What do you think? Click that little green button and tell me!**_

_**I know this is a low blow, but reviewers get an exclusive teaser for next chapter, apart from the one I'll post on the twilighted forum.**_

_**Also, be sure to check my profile for videos and Bella's outfits.**_

_**Glossary for chapter 3.**_

**Plié**

Literally "bending of the knees". A smooth and continuous bending of the knees.

This can be grande-plié, a bend to the deepest position where the heels lift off the floor.

For demi-plié the dancer bends knees until just below the hips, while maintaining classical turn-out at the hip joints, allowing the thighs and knees to be directly above the line of the toes and the heels to stay on the floor.

**Devant (En Avant)**

Refers to a direction to the front. A step en Devant moves forwards. A movement done to the front would be for instance grand battement en Devant.

**À la seconde**

To the side or in the second position. À la seconde usually means a step that moves sideways or a movement done to the side such as grand battement à la seconde.

**Port de bras**

Literally "carriage of the arms". Sometimes misspelled "porte-bras". Movement of the arms to different positions, it is considered a simple movement but a dancer works hard to make it seem graceful, poised and seamless. The basic port de bras exercise moves from fifth en barre to first arm position, to second arm position, then back down to fifth en barre. A full port de bras moves from fifth en barre to fifth overhead and back down but a variation of sequence is common.

**Arrière**

French for "back". A step en arrière moves backwards, away from the audience.


	4. Want it hard

_Hello, hello again. Thank you all for continue to read this little thing. It means a lot to me, and even tho I have few readers and few reviews, I love them all, and I love the insight you give me in them. Makes me think I'm getting something right. _

_I have been getting some really good questions in the reviews, so Im thinking about ansering them extendedly in the Twilighted thread. Don't forget to visit it, I post teasers there ;)_

_So you know the deal with the glossary, although I wanted to clarify something. With this chapter, my beta Tiff noticed that I say "bar" when the correct form in ballet is "barre". I know this, and Im trying to make this as simple and easy to read as possible, so If I can simplyfiy terms like "bar" to "barre, "balancé" to "balance", "a la seconde" to "second position", etc, Ill do it. The last thing I want is to make this excedingly technical and boring. _

_So my betas Rhi and Tiff rock, I heart you. _

_I own two babies who are called the same, only one is a twenty nine year old and the other one three. Twilight, I dont own._

**Bellarina Chapter 4**

_**Edward:**_

After Tuesday's meltdown, Bella returned to her happy self. She enjoyed her classes for the rest of the week, dismissing Jane's, Tanya's and her teacher's mean comments.

I walked her to the Academy every day; it reminded me of when I took her to her ballet lessons in Port Angeles.

_September. Junior year of high school._

_I was in Port Angeles, bored out of my mind, trying to find some distraction by hanging out at the mall or something. I bought a frappuccino at the Starbucks outside the mall and sat in one of the tables outside. I liked to sit there and watch the girls coming in and out of the ballet studio across the street. _

_It was then that I saw her._ My angel_. She was so beautiful with her hair up in a bun, with a few strands sticking to her forehead. Her slim figure was accentuated by the tight leotard she wore, and her legs were almost exposed by the sheer material of the tights covering them. Just by looking at them you could tell she was a dancer… a ballerina…_ Bellarina_._

_It had been three weeks since I saw her for the first time at the diner, and then earlier this week at school. I asked around and learned that her name was Bella, and she was Chief Swan's daughter. From the first moment, I was drawn to her, like gravity. It was like the earth wasn't what held me down anymore, it was her._

_I was a man on a mission now. The next day I went looking for her at the diner. I sat in my usual table in her section, my books in hand – I had to pretend to be doing something, besides stalking her, that is._

"_Hi, are you ready to order?" Bella asked, blushing as usual. My fingers itched to caress her cheek as it reddened. _

"_Just strawberry cobbler, please." I waited a moment while she wrote down my order before putting my plan into action. _

"_I'm sorry I haven't introduced myself yet, since I come here often, and I see you every day at school. I'm Edward Cullen. You're Bella, right?"_

"_Umm… yeah, but how do you know my name?" She asked, confused._

"_Your name tag says it quite clearly," I said, pointing to it. _

"_Oh… that's right, silly me. Let me get you your cobbler…_ Edward._" She blushed beautifully as she said my name, and I loved how it sounded coming out of her mouth._

_She came back minutes later with my strawberry cobbler and a glass of Dr. Pepper, anticipating that I would order it next, as I always did. _

"_I saw you in Port Angeles yesterday, coming out from 'Miss Sophie's'," I said to her as she placed everything on the table, almost making her drop the tray._

_Her eyes went wide, and she blushed deep crimson before squeaking, "You did?"_

_I chuckled lightly at her endearing reaction. "Yeah, and I was wondering if you would like a ride for when you go to your lessons. I take piano lessons there, so you could come with me if you like." Total bull, my mother had taught me how to play, but she wouldn't agree if I told her that I would go to Port Angeles every day just to have an excuse to enjoy her company. _

"_I appreciate it, but I can drive by myself. My dad just gave me a truck, and it works quite well," she said, but I knew she was dying to say yes. Her eyes betrayed her feelings; she was like an open book._

"_But can you make the trip and come home with one tank of gas?" I had her with this, she knew it._

"_And why would you care?" she asked, annoyed. Several answers quickly swirled through my head:_ Because I can't think of anything else but you, because I dream about running my hands across your long ballerina legs, because your eyes hypnotize me…

"_The wasting of finite resources is everyone's business," I said cockily, as I sipped my soda. The look in her eyes changed __completely, and I worried that I had pushed too far, that I offended her. _

"_FINE!" She said. "But I have to be there by four, so don't make me late, Cullen." She turned her back to me and stalked towards the kitchen, but midway she looked back at me over her shoulder and smiled. I did a mental happy dance. _

_The first stage of my mission was complete. Now I had to work on phase two: Make her fall in love with me, like I was falling for her. _

* * *

Those trips to Port Angeles became key in our relationship. I took her to her lessons Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, for two years. Those trips were sacred to me. In the time we spent in my car as we drove to and from Port Angeles, it was like no one existed but us. We got to know each other, we became best friends and fell in love in that time.

On Fridays, Bella just had one early class so she would be home early, but I was surprised to find the apartment empty when I got there at 1:15. I was hungry, and I had gotten used to Bella's exquisite cooking, so I was dreading having to warm up a Hot Pocket. I was about to open the fridge door, when I noticed a note from Bella.

_Babe, _

_There's some chicken and pasta in the oven for you. You think I would let you eat that nasty Hot Pocket stuff again? _

_I went shopping with Alice. I'll be back by 5. We're going out tonight._

_I love you! XOXO_

_-B-_

_Alice__?… Oh yeah_! She told me about her new friends at school. That Alice girl seemed nice, and so did the Brazilian gal… Zara… something like that. I was glad she had girlfriends here, now I only had to figure out what to do with my sorry ass for four hours without her.

I ate… I watched TV… I showered… I shaved… watched some more TV… and I was going out of my fucking mind. I didn't know how to be without Bella anymore. I'm not sure when, but I fell asleep on the couch reading one of Bella's Austen novels.

I woke up, feeling feathery touches on my cheek. I opened my eyes, slowly adjusting to the clarity.

"Hey, sleepyhead." Bella was sitting in the armrest of the couch, softly caressing my cheeks and jaw. I grabbed her hand and leaned into it.

I kissed her palm and said against her skin, "I missed you, baby girl."

"I missed you, too."

"So, how was your shopping trip?"

"Torture…" She chuckled lightly before continuing. "But I got a little something to wear tonight that you might like, and a little something to go underneath it…"

"I like the sound of that," I said in a mischievous voice, trying to pull her to my lap.

"Yeah, and I'm sure you'll also like the sound of Alice's squeaky voice drilling in your ear, bitching about why we're late. So get that fine ass of yours up and get ready!"

"Bossy much?" I teased. "I didn't know you were into the 'Dom' thing, but we can sure give it a try."

"God, Edward, you are such a perv."

"You said yourself that I have a fine ass. I bet you would love to spank it… or better yet… how about I spank _these_…" I remarked the last word by squeezing her tight little ass… _hard_.

I turned around towards the bedroom, leaving Bella speechless, wide-eyed and flustered. I was going to pay for that little stunt tonight… I sure hope so.

* * *

We were meeting Bella's friends at a bar called Volterra. It was not far from campus, so we decided to walk. By 7:10, we were already seated.

I turned towards the band playing. They weren't very good, but it was tolerable. A little pixie-like girl with short, dark hair came pushing through the little crowd in the bar. She was towing this really tall, lanky guy. There was probably a two foot difference between them. I was really amused by the little scene in front of us. She yanked him and towed him like he was a doll and then suddenly stopped. She turned to look at him sternly and yapped something at him, waving her index finger. He nodded serenely, and then she yanked and towed him again.

It was hilarious. In fact I was about to laugh when pixie girl yelled "Bella!" waving her hand at us. I coughed, trying to disguise my attempt at making fun of her.

We stood up to meet them as they approached the table.

"Hi, guys! Oh, you must be Edward… Bella, he's totally cute! Sorry, Jasper. I'm Alice, and this is Jasper." She barely stopped talking to shake my hand and kiss Bella's cheek. "Bella, Zafrina called. Can't come, and Stefan is having some boy trouble with Vlad, so they can't come either. I guess we'll just have to make this a double date!" After her hundred-word-per-minute speech, she squeaked. Like a fucking mouse. How someone so tiny could be so annoying, and how Bella could deal with this on a daily basis, was beyond me.

"Nice to meet you, man," Jasper said as he extended his hand to me, and I shook it.

"Likewise," I answered sincerely. He looked like a really easy-going guy, so maybe this "double date" thing might not be so bad after all.

We sat down, and a minute later, a waitress came over and handed us the menu.

"You mind if we order dinner before drinks? Jasper and I haven't had anything to eat yet, and we'll be wasted after the first beer," Alice said.

"Sure, Bella and I haven't eaten yet, either."

"I'm not really that hungry, Edward. I think I'll pass on dinner," Bella said, sounding unsure.

"Bella, you can't have more than three drinks as it is, and you haven't eaten anything in at least two hours-"

"Four," Alice interrupted.

"Do you want alcohol poisoning?" I continued. She looked a bit nervous, and it was a little out of character for her to pass on dinner.

"Ok, babe, I'll just have something light," she compromised.

The waitress came back to take our orders. She gestured towards the girls to tell her what they would like.

"I'll have the chicken fingers with honey mustard… and a Bud Light, please."

"Miss?" The waitress asked Bella.

"I'm still deciding, you guys go ahead." I motioned with my hand to Jasper to go first.

"I'll have the Pineapple burger with a Corona," he said.

"I'll have the same as him, just a Heineken instead, please," I told the waitress.

"Okay, chicken fingers… two pineapple burgers… aha…" she muttered to herself as she wrote down our orders. "Miss, are you ready?"

"Mmm… I think I'll just have the Ceasar salad with light dressing, please and some iced tea, no sugar," Bella said.

"Since when do you order salad at a bar?" I asked, completely shocked, and probably a little too harsh.

"And iced tea… God, Bella, I didn't know you were such a prude," Alice added.

"I'm not! I'm sorry if I seem like such a party pooper." She looked honestly embarrassed. "It's just that Mrs. Von Wobeser has been bugging me about being too heavy to be lifted, and though I'm not exactly dieting, I don't want to add anything either," she said sheepishly, almost whispering the last part.

I was beyond speechless. Bella, heavy?_ My __115 pounds__ Bella, heavy?_ I couldn't believe that, she was not heavy at all. We've actually been to concerts where I carried her on my shoulders for an entire hour, and she was definetly NOT heavy.

"Fuck her," Alice spat. "Bella, she is known for being a jealous, selfish bitch. She's probably trying to sabotage you, because she knows you are more talented than she ever was."

"God…_ Argh_!" she groaned frustrated, covering her face with her hands. "I just want her off my back, and I don't want to give her the satisfaction of dropping her class, so if I have to lose a couple of pounds, I'll do it. It's no big deal, it's not as if I'm anorexic or some jizz like that."

"Okay, so let's order you some real food and a beer. Really, baby girl, _one_ meal and a couple of drinks aren't going to make you 150 pounds. If it makes you more comfortable, we can even go jogging in the morning," I told her honestly. She just smiled and nodded.

Bella ordered some BBQ ribs and a Miller light, but she hardly ate anything. She just kept picking the food apart. The mood had lightened, so I didn't want to ruin it by bringing that up again.

"So Edward, Bella told us you play piano?" Jasper asked, taking a swig from his beer.

"Yes, I do," I answered sincerely. I loved music, and if my call toward medicine hadn't been so strong, I would've pursued it professionally.

"Cool man, I'm a pianist too."

"Oh, you should hear him play, Jasper is amazingly talented. He goes to the Academy too. Their music program is one of the best," Alice said, making Jasper chuckle in embarrasment.

"Yeah, I think you're biased Alice. Anyway, enough about me. So what kind of music do you play?" Jasper asked.

"I'm more into classical stuff, Debussy, Bach, Chopin. But put a music sheet in front of me, and I'll play anything. How about you?" I asked eagerly. I was so happy to know someone who shared my passion for piano.

"Jazz… as redundant as it sounds," he chuckled.

"I guess we are a lot like our women."

"Classical and contemporary," he responded knowingly.

Jasper and I hit it off almost immediately. We talked about music, piano and bands, on and on for almost two hours before the girls dragged us to the dance floor, bored by our prattle.

Alice wasn't so bad after you got to know her; her squeaky voice and hyperactivity didn't annoy you as much. She was actually a lot of fun.

We danced for almost an hour, and then we went back to our table. Everyone was slightly drunk, so the chatter, laughter and jokes flowed easily between us. Plus, ,,,,it felt natural, as if we had known Jasper and Alice for years. I felt like I could really trust them, like we were family.

* * *

_**Bella**_:

I didn't like Fridays very much. I had to get up and ready for just one single class. On top of that, it just had to be lovely Mrs. Von Wobeser's class.

I got ready, wearing my usual black leotard with fugly pink tights. I hated them -I had used them enough when I was six. I put a denim skirt and a t-shirt over them, and slipped my pink Crocs on. I hated that I couldn't wear my brand new red pointes that Edward had given me. Instead I had to take my old, ratty pink ones.

All week long, I endured Jane's, Tanya's and Mrs. Von Wobeser's rude comments, but since I had adopted my Fuck Them policy, I just smiled and dismissed them politely. I think that just spurred them on.

Class began with our usual bar work. After that, she indicated a short variation. We were not many in this class, so we could it try individually. Tanya, as always, went ahead of me.

"Tanya, you need to stretch that leg higher in the grand battement, and your turnout is less than perfect," Mrs. Von Wobeser told her.

Tanya's shocked face was priceless. It was the first time she ever received a comment from her other than, "_Perfect, Tanya, dear."_

It was my turn now. I decided that I would just feel the music, and let the movement flow.

"_Très bien_, Miss Swan. Perfect split." Now I was the shocked one. Was she actually talking to me? And she called me Miss Swan instead of Dorothy. I'm sure my face was also priceless.

Class was soon dismissed, and I was eager to get out of there, but once again I was stopped on my way out.

"Miss Swan, could you stay five minutes, please?" the teacher asked me.

"Yes, Mrs. Von Wobeser, what can I do for you?"

"As you know, Winter Gala auditions are coming up. This year we are performing the Swan Lake, and I want you to audition for Odette."

"_What_?" I was beyond speechless. She had been treating me like some amateur trash, and now she was asking me to audition for the main role?

"I know I have been strict with you," That was an understatement. "But you have so much raw talent. You need to be pushed, Miss Swan. Do you think Bree, to whom I never give a single comment, is better than you? She will never get past being corps de ballet, but _you_… you are prima ballerina material. You are the best I have seen in years, but it is not enough. Just talent, is not enough. You have to want it hard and work even harder for it," she said seriously.

"I'm… I'm sorry, it's just a little hard to believe that you're saying this to me. I thought you were more on Tanya's side," I told her nervously.

"Tanya is good, alright, but she'll never get anywhere with that diva attitude. Think about what I'm telling you." She started walking towards the door, but after a few steps, she stopped.

"One more thing, you might want to watch your weight. A pas de deux is really difficult to execute with a heavy ballerina," she said over her shoulder, not even turning to face me, and then she walked out.

I just stood there for a while, her words ringing in my head. _You need to be pushed Miss Swan… you are prima ballerina material… want it hard and work even harder for it…_

I had the talent, and I already wanted it so badly. I just had to work harder for it, and I would do everything, anything to get it.

* * *

_Please, please, leave me a review. Tell me what you liked, what you disliked, what you thought and if it was what you expected. Now go on, click that green button. Click, click, click!_

_Remember, readers get an **exclusive** teaser for chapter 5._

_**Glossary for chapter 4:**_

_Battement_: It is a kicking movement of the working leg (i.e. the leg that is performing a technique)

_Grand battement_: is a powerful battement action where the dancer takes the leg as high as possible, while the supporting leg remains straight.

_Turnou_t: A rotation of the leg from the hips, causing the knee and foot to also turn outward. Properly done, the ankles remain erect and the foot arch remains curved and supporting.

Turn-out technique is a defining characteristic of Classical Ballet. Not all dancers do have a perfect turn-out; but it is definitely a measure for selection. In beginner classes, a less-than-perfect turn-out is tolerated to save stress to knee joints until the ability is acquired.

_Split__:_ can be done in right, left or center positions, done as floor work, barre work helps the split to get stronger, the closer to the floor you get, the better your split is.

_Corps de ballet__._ The ensemble of a ballet company; especially, the ensemble apart from the featured dancers.

_Pas de deux:_ meaning "step of two". Pas de deux is a duet usually performed by a female and a male dancer

* * *


	5. Birthday girl Part 1

_**My beloved readers! Thank you very much for all your comments and reviews. They make my heart feel warm and fuzzy :) I am so, so sorry for the delay in this chapter, so to make it up to you, here you have a longer chapter than the previous ones, plus the next one will come pretty quickly ;P**_

_**A shout out to my betas, and to my cousin who may or may not be reading this and if he is, I will never be able to look at him in the eye due to the filthiness that I tend to write. So without further due…**_

_**I own a pair of Lacoste green shoes, but Twilight, not.**_

_**Bellarina. Chapter 5.**_

_**Bella:**_

It had been a rough couple of weeks. Jane had been relentless with her "Belly" jokes only now she added my trash-loving boyfriend to the mix . I was going to get back at her, that was for sure. Nobody could insult my man and get away with it. My mind was just real busy for the time being, so it would have to wait.

Mrs. Von Wobeser's attitude toward me changed radically. There was no more Dorothy, at least on her part but Tanya just couldn't let it go. She now used me as an example, but not without her usual rude comment about how a freshman could dance better than the rest of the class, who were juniors and seniors. Needless to say, now everyone in that class hated me, not just lovely Tanya.

I was working really hard, rehearsing my Giselle solo for the Winter Gala audition. I really wanted the Odette part, but Tanya was working just as hard as I was, so the competition would be tough, to say the least.

I had to stay after classes at the academy to use one of the dance studios for my rehearsals. Edward always came to pick me up afterwards. Sometimes I would be so tired that in the ride in the elevator of our building, I would rest my head against his shoulder and drift off. So we practically just saw each other in the mornings, and I missed him.

He had also been busy this week. He had a really hard test, so he spent a lot of time studying with his friends Ben Cheney and Kate Denali. If it wasn't for the fact that they weren't alone and that they studied here, at our apartment, I would've been really jealous of Kate. She was really beautiful, but Edward told me she had just recently gotten engaged, so that helped a little to relieve my stress.

Whenever they came over, I would force myself to stay awake, at least until we ate dinner. As we got to know each other, I grew to like Edward's friends a lot.

Ben was a really sweet, adorkable guy, nerd glasses and everything. He always made a nice compliment about my food and he helped clean up up after we ate every time..

Kate was… unique. She cursed like a sailor and was little bit of a tomboy, but she was so cool. She always said things like "Fucking shit, Bella, you gotta tell me how to make this motherfucking lasagna. I bet Garret would fuck me all night long if I cooked shit like this for him. Ain't that right, Eddo?" Just to see Edward blush was worth the embarrassment.

I was always so exhausted, that every time I made dinner, I would give Edward a quick peck on the lips before making a bee line to my bed.I loved having Edward's friends over; I just wished it had been when I could stay away longer. Edward and I hadn't even had sex all week due to how tired I was.

I never wished so hard for a Friday. Since I only had one class that day, I reserved the dancing studio for my rehearsals for early morning. I would rehearse, then I would go to my "Pointe technique" class, and by noon I would be out. I was going to go home and sleep all freaking day and catch up on some well deserved rest.

After all, tomorrow was my birthday, and I needed to be well rested to enjoy it.

_**

* * *

  
**__**Edward:**_

I had a huge surprise for Bella's birthday. I knew she hated surprises with a passion and even more so expensive surprises, but I knew that this time, she wouldn't object.

I had to recruit everyone's help to pull it off. Ben and Kate helped me move stuff to the guest room when they came over to study. Bella had been so tired that she didn't even wake up when we dropped one of the bookcases.

My neighbor, Peter, was a contractor, and he was going to take care of the next part. Alice was going to get Bella out of the apartment tomorrow so we could install everything in the studio.

As part of her surprise, I was bringing Bella's best friend from Washington, Angela Weber. She took a little bit of convincing, but who could resist an all paid round trip to New York, staying at a five-star hotel?

Bella would be so happy to have Angela here. They were really close back in high school. From what Bella had told me, Angela's family struggled quite a bit with money because of their large size. Angela had three younger brothers, and they also took care of their grandmother. Because of this, she wasn't even able to go to college in Seattle, instead she had to settle with community college in Port Angeles.

My twin sister, Rose, was also coming. She was majoring in Mechanical engineering at MIT. You would think that she would be in fashion design, or something girly like that because she was very beautiful –and I'm not just saying that because we're twins. In addition to her good looks, Rose could sometimes be a diva, but that didn't overshadow th fact that she was a math genius and that she held a passion for any kind of challenge.. The bad news was that she was bringing some guy she met there, so I would have to put on my big brother face. Although technically, she is twenty minutes older than me.

The elevator dinged before the door opened, pulling me out of my thoughts. I walked to our door and when I opened it, I couldn't help but smile at the sight before me.

Bella was soundly asleep on the couch, lying on her stomach, Crocs still on and everything. She had been so stressed these last couple of weeks, preparing herself for that Gala thing. I noticed that she was also eating very little, but she said that it was because se was so tired, and above all, I trusted her. Bella was such a smart and healthy girl. I knew she wouldn't do anything to risk her well-being.

I carried her to bed and undressed her. I'm sure a leotard and tights are not comfortable to sleep in, at all. As I struggled with her clothes, she kept mumbling, "Jeté… relevé… une… deux… trois…"

I was finally able to take her leotard off, but when I started lowering her tights, I couldn't believe my eyes. Bella was wearing a fucking g-string underneath.

I mean, come on! We hadn't had sex all week. I was sexually frustrated and horny as hell, and just to add to the torture of my blue balls, I had to endure having Bella naked, on her stomach, wearing that fucking sexy g-string, displaying cruelly her delicious and oh-so-fuckable ass and glorious legs.

I'd always been an 'ass and legs' kind of guy. Being a dancer, Bella had the most perfect, little tight ass, perky and round, just asking to be squeezed… maybe spanked a little, too. Then there were her legs…_ Oh my God_. She had amazing legs, long and toned, always soft as silk and so flexible, the way she could spread them all the–

"Ungh," I thought I heard her moan, and my hand automatically went down to my dick, stroking myself over my jeans. "Deux… trois, » she continued mumbling and I realized she wasn't moaning, she was counting in motherfucking French in her sleep!

_Fuck!_ I needed to stop now or I would end up jacking off next to her while she slept. I'm pretty sure that would classify me as a creeper. I covered her with a blanket, and then I sprinted to the shower.

After I took a nice and long, cold shower, I went to the studio to distract myself from thinking about Bella and her g-string. I was getting the last details ready before Peter took over. I checked my phone and saw that I had a text from Rose.

_Twinkle, we're about to land. Everything according to plan._

_R-_

It was from thirty minutes ago, so I guessed it was okay to call her.

"Hey, twinkle!" she answered, after the first ring.

"It's twin or brother or Edward… anything but _twinkle_, please Rose. You know how much I hate that. It's gay," I whined. I think she just called me that to piss me off on purpose.

"Whatever, twinkle," she said, giggling.

"Anyway, how was your flight?"

"Really good. I'm actually a member of the mile high club now."

"Fucking TMI, Rosalie! What the hell is wrong with you?" I answered, disgusted. The last thing I wanted to think was about some sleazy guy with his hands on my sister.

"Oh, shut up, Edward. TMI is having to see you, with your hands on Bella's-"

"Okay, okay! You win," I conceded. She had caught us on a few occasions during sexy times. "So how's the plan going?"

"Just fine. Angela's flight will land in about twenty minutes. We'll meet her and then head to the hotel. Emmet and I will be in room 304, and Angela across the hall in 303." I chose not to dwell on the fact that she was staying in the same room as the sleazy guy.

"And you know where to meet us?" I asked.

"Yes, Edward," she answered annoyed, but I had to make sure everything went perfect. "At 'The Coven', 9:00 PM sharp. I know where it is."

"Okay, I'll see you there then. Don't be late, Rose-"

"Yes, Edward, I know! Godamnet, have some faith in me!"

"You know I do. I love you, twinkle star."

"I know, twinkle, love you too. See you tomorrow."

Tomorrow, Bella would have the best birthday in all her life. I would make sure of it.

* * *

The next day, Alice showed up bright and early, practically kidnapping Bella. She was going to take her to the spa for massages, and all the other girly stuff they do there. Then, she would take her shopping for something to wear tonight. Bella had to look radiant -this was all about her after all.

Meanwhile, Peter and I got to work on the studio.

At 6:45, I received a text from Alice.

_We're coming. Get rid of the evidence.__  
A-_

Fortunately, Peter and I had finished a while ago, so the coast was clear. I quickly got in the shower so Bella wouldn't see how sweaty I was after all the heavy lifting.

A while later, they arrived at the apartment, and Bella came right over to me to pull me into a tight hug.

"Hey, baby girl, you had a nice time?" I asked, kissing the top of her head.

"Yes, thank you for the massage. I really needed that."

"I know," I answered.

"Okay, enough, love birds. We still have a lot to do," Alice said, pulling Bella out of my arms.

"Edward! Help me, please! I can't stand more torture!" Bella half teased, half whined.

"I'm sorry, Bellarina, but she'll torture me too."

They locked themselves up in the bedroom, and I finished getting ready. Luckily, I had anticipated this, so I had already set up my clothes in the guest room. I was wearing a gray striped dress shirt with dark jeans and black moccasins.

I sat in the living room to watch some TV while they finished getting ready. Every once in a while I would hear Bella yelling, and Alice saying, "Oh, stop whining you big baby."

Jasper arrived at quarter to nine, but the girls hadn't come out yet. We grabbed a couple of beers, and then he joined me in the living room to watch TV. Fifteen minutes later, the girls finally emerged from the bedroom.

Bella looked amazing in a turquoise dress with brown zebra stripes. Her brown 'fuck me' shoes only made her look even more incredibly sexy.

Alice looked pretty good also. She had a denim mini skirt and a black top with cool snake shoes.

I noticed that Jasper might have even drooled a little.

The building could have gone up in flames and I wouldn't have noticed. Bella looked so beautiful. It was like I was seeing her for the first time. I couldn't believe how this angel had chosen me to share her life with.

"You look stunning, baby girl," I whispered in her ear, wrapping my arms around her.

"You stole my line… let's skip the party. Let's stay and make up for what we've missed this week," she said, smiling mischievously and winking an eye at me.

I almost gave in, but luckily, Alice intervened in time.

"Oh, no you don't. I didn't choose these gorgeous outfits for nothing. A few hours won't kill you, and then you'll have all night to hump like rabbits," she said.

"Alice!" Bella hissed, blushing almost purple. It amazed me how she could be such a little minx in the bedroom and still be so shy about talking about it.

Since it was a special occasion, I took out my car. I loved to drive, but it was difficult to do so, here in New York. Besides, I wouldn't dream of making Bella walk or take a cab in such a sinful dress. It was her birthday, after all; I had to pamper my girl.

'The Coven' was a really cool, trendy club where I had taken Bella a couple of times before when she came to visit me. The second floor of the club was actually the VIP area, which I had reserved for tonight. It was perfect, because Bella wouldn't see who was seated at our table until she was there, making her surprise even better.

Bella started walking to our usual table, but then I steered her toward the stairs. She looked at me with disbelieving eyes, because she knew how hard it was to reserve that area. I just smiled innocently at her.

A couple of steps before we reached the top, I stopped her.

"Why don't you guys go ahead. We'll be there in a couple of minutes," I said to Jasper and Alice, who were walking behind us.

"Sure, man," Jasper said, pulling Alice with him. Alice just winked over her shoulder at us.

* * *

_**Bella**_:

Edward just stared at me, smiling warmly. I cupped his cheek and whispered, "Hey."

"Hey, you," he responded.

"You didn't have to reserve the VIP area, you know. Our usual table would've been fine."

"I know, but today is special. And I have a surprise for you."

"Edward! You know I don't-"

"You will love this, I promise," he cut me off, then he pulled me by the waist so that his lips were right next to my ear. "I love you, you know that, right?"

"Of course I do. I love you, too."

"Okay, let's get up there, everyone's waiting for you."

"What? Who is-" I didn't even finish my question before Edward pushed me up the stairs. I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard everyone yell "Happy Birthday!"

All of our friends were there. Alice, Jasper, Zafrina, Stefan and his boyfriend Vlad, Ben, and Kate with who I suppose was her fiancé, Garret. I also noticed a tall, tough-looking guy that I didn't know. Just then, I noticed the person he was holding hands with.

"Rose!" I yelled, running to hug her. "I can't believe you came, I'm so happy to see you!" I said to her with my arms tightly around her shoulders.

"I… can tell…can't… breathe," she gasped.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" I released her, and gave her an apologetic look.

"Bella, I want you to meet my boyfriend, Emmett."

A huge pair of arms wrapped around me and spun me around. "Happy birthday, Bellarina!" Emmett said to me, and then released me. "I'm so glad to finally meet you, Rose won't ever shut up about her beloved Twinkle and her Bellarina. At least now I'll have a face to match the names I hear a thousand times a day," he teased, earning a slap in the back of the head from Rosalie.

I laughed really hard at Edward's nickname. I loved it when she called him 'twinkle'. I would call him that too if it wasn't seriously sick for me to call him something that meant "brother".

"Thank you so much for coming, both of you. It means a lot to me," I told them honestly.

"You know I wouldn't miss it for the world, sister," Rose said.

I stayed with them for a little while longer, chatting and catching up. Emmett seemed like a great guy, sweet and caring, everything Rose needed. Apparently he was just as smart as Rose since he attended MIT as well. He was getting a masters in Aeronautics or something geeky like that.

I searched around for Edward, but I couldn't see him in the room. I looked over the balcony, thinking maybe he was getting drinks at the bar, but I couldn't see him there either.

"Hey, have you seen Edward?" I asked Ben, with who I saw Edward talking earlier.

"Over here, baby girl!" Edward called me, coming up from the stairs. "Look who I found wandering around downstairs." He moved to the side, letting me see the person behind him.

"Angela! Oh my God!" I hugged her, and we jumped up and down in circles, squealing like little girls.

"But… but… what are you doing here? How did you get here? Where are you staying? You can stay with us, Ang. We have a guest room, so you don't have to spend-"

"Bella, Bella, stop! Don't worry about me, Edward covered everything," she said smiling.

I turned to look in awe at Edward. He just shrugged his shoulders and said softly, "Surprise."

I suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion. My boyfriend had brought one of my best friends all the way from Washington. Rose, who I loved like a sister was here, too, along with every one of my friends from New York. My eyes started filling up with tears, but Edward quickly pulled me into his arms.

"Don't cry, Bella. It's your birthday. You're supposed to be happy," he crooned in my ear, as he rocked us back and forth.

"I know, and I am. There are happy tears, I promise," I reassured him, as I wiped the salty drops from my eyes. "Thank you, Edward, for everything you've done tonight. I love you," I told him sincerely, looking deep into his eyes.

"I love you too, baby girl. Now let's celebrate!" He twirled me around and I laughed heartedly, letting myself let go of all the stress of the week and truly enjoying my party for the first time in the night.

A waiter came up the stairs, and everyone started ordering drinks. I noticed that his gaze lingered on Zafrina, and she was staring right back at him, smiling a bit suggestively.

"Bella?" Alice asked. "What are you drinking? You should try the 'Banana Mamma', it's really good," she said.

"Umm… I think I'll abstain tonight," I responded shyly. As I said that, it was like the music stopped abruptly, because everyone was now staring and gaping at me, even the waiter, Santiago, as his name tag read.

"What?! Bella, it's your Birth. Day. How can you not have alcohol on your birthday?" Rose asked indignantly, as if I had said the worst of blasphemies.

"Fuck! You're knocked up!" Kate said loudly.

I instinctively turned to see Edward's face. His eyes were wide and the color had drained from his skin. He looked two seconds away from fainting.

"No! Oh God, no! I'm not pregnant," I said, and Edward just bent over to rest his hands on his knees, sighing in relief. "I just don't want to drink tonight. It's my birthday, isn't it? I can do whatever I want," I whined, lamely trying to justify my refusal.

Edward looked up at me with narrowed eyes. He walked to me looking kind of pissed. Then, he pulled me to a corner of the room.

"Does this have anything to do with that fat bullshit?"

"Edward, please, please. You know about this more than I do, you know about alcohol turning into sugar and all that jizz. You know it's a bitch to burn it off. I have the Gala auditions coming up in two weeks, I have to be perfect, you know it. You know it! Please just try to understand me," I pleaded. I could see that he couldn't argue against my logic, and I could almost physically see his anger crumble behind his eyes. "And besides, it's not like it's a bag thing to abstain right? It could be really tricky to take the clothes off my hot boyfriend if I'm drunk," I said, trying to distract him from his seriousness.

He released an exasperated breath and nodded. "Okay, baby girl. I just want you to enjoy this day," he said in a defeated tone.

After that, the little episode was forgotten. Everyone was having a good time. Angela and Ben seemed to hit if off since they were hiding in the furthest corner of the room, holding hands and whispering to each other. Every once in a while I would see Ben taking one of Ang's hands to his lips. They looked so cute.

Rose and Emmett were making out like there was no tomorrow. It seemed like they were about to have sex right there in the middle of the room.

Edward was positively fuming. He never had to deal with this kind of thing. In high school, no guy was brave enough to put up with Rosalie Cullen, not that she had ever been interested in any boy in Forks. She didn't start going out with guys until she was in Cambridge, so Edward never really met any of her boyfriends.

Even though they were twins –and he was actually the younger one- he was so protective of Rose, so this was the first time he had seen her with a guy, let alone sucking face with said guy. When Emmett's hand started going up Rose's thigh, Edward was about to punch him. I knew I had to do something, so I stopped him in the best way I knew how—I kissed him.. Live and let live, and all that jazz, right? Or in this case, make out and let make out…

After a while of making out and teasing each other mercilessly, I needed some air, or I would jump his bones right then and there. I decided to spare everyone the live porn scene and instead, I dragged all my girls downstairs to the dancing floor.

Up-beat electronic music was playing. I recognized it as Armin Van Buuren's since Edward and I were big fans of his. We gathered in a tight circle on the dance floor, swaying to the music. We could see all of the guys lined up in the balcony rail looking down at us with drinks in their hands. Rose turned to look up at me and winked, nodding inconspicuously toward them.

She went to stand in the middle of the circle and started dancing really suggestively, brushing her hands along her body. She bent over, and stood up slowly, jutting her ass out in a very 'pussycat doll' style. I looked up to see the guys' reaction.

Even through the blasting music, I could hear Ben, Jasper, Garret and Vlad screaming and whistling at us. Edward looked like he was going to pass out. Emmet was wide-eyed and a little flushed. His jaw seemed like it wouldn't be able to close again.

Next, Alice took Rose's place. She started moving with the music, contorting her body in ways it seemed impossible. The movements were so fast and precise, it seemed like she was telling a story with her arms. She threw herself onto the floor on her stomach, then placing her foot between her neck and shoulder, looking very much like a scorpion, she flipped around and then lifted herself using only the strength of her legs. She seemed boneless as she straightened up, vertebrae by vertebrae. She lifted one hand in the air and squealed so loud my ears rang.

The whole club erupted in applause, whistles and howls. I looked around and realized that everyone had cleared the dance floor for us. As I was doing so, I noticed that Zafrina was not in our circle, she was down by the bar, dancing with Santiago. Though it was more like she was grinding her ass into his crotch while he groped her thoroughly, but she seemed blissfully happy, so I let her be.

"Let me show you how this shit is done, bitches!" Kate yelled, moving toward the middle of the circle. She started bouncing quite funny from foot to foot. Then, all of a sudden, she started break dancing. She moved with such ease, doing backflips and supporting all her weight on her arms like it was nothing. As her solo came to an end, she crossed her arms and leaned back in a very 'bad ass' pose. Everyone cheered and applauded.

"That's mah' woman!" Garret yelled from the balcony. I looked up to see the guys once again. They were all yelling like crazy, dancing with the music. Edward had a huge smile on his angelic face. He leaned over the rail and yelled, "Come on, Bella!"

After that, all the guys started chanting, "Be-lla, Be-lla, Be-lla!" Then, the girls tagged along, until the whole place was chanting, "Be-lla, Be-lla, Be-lla!". I moved toward the center, making everyone scream and howl.

The music slowed down for a moment, and then a keyboard started playing, picking up the rhythm again.

I quickly thought about what Rose, Alice and Kate had done. They had danced to their own style, and even though mine was classical ballet, I was going to put on my best moves.

I took off my shoes and closed my eyes for a couple of seconds, trying to attune myself to the music and build up some courage. I started moving my arms to the sides in a circular motion. I thanked God silently that I had thought about putting lycra shorts underneath my dress.

I lifted my leg over my head and threw my head back, then I turned around in attitude. As the music picked up, I started improvising with echappes, pas de bourres, and pirouettes. As I felt the song coming to an end, I positioned myself in preparation, and did a full sixteen round fouettes, and ended in a neat arabesque.

My body froze in the position for a couple of seconds and I closed my eyes. Then snapped them back open as I heard the entire place erupting in screams, cheers and howls, louder than ever.

"I'm not going to top that girlfriend, so Ang and I are just going to dance!" Stefan said, pulling Angela to the center of the circle. They just goofed around linking their arms over their shoulders. With that, the atmosphere lightened up again and the little dance performance was over. The dance floor filled up with people once again.

Edward came from behind me and pulled me into his arms.

"That was amazing, and so fucking hot," he said in a seductive voice. I giggled a little, blushing.

"I can think of another place where those moves could be useful, too," he cooed in my ear, pressing himself into my ass and lower back.

I lifted my hand to caress the back of his neck and placed my other hand on top of the one he had on my hip. I swayed my hips to the music, grinding into him. Feeling all of his hard length pressed to me.

We kept dancing like that for another hour or so, just teasing and feeling each other. I finally turned around, so I could kiss him. I met his lips and our tongues immediately found each other, as we kissed with every bit of love, lust, desire and need. His hands rested on my hips, moving slowly south. We both moaned, even though it was muffled because we were still kissing, when he gripped my bottom –hard- and lifted me up a bit, pressing his now fully erect cock in between my legs.

"Now that is fucking TMI, Edward. I mean, come on! It's like seeing myself, with a bad hairstyle, dry humping Bella," Rose said from behind us.

We pulled away stunned and embarrassed from displaying such a scene.

"Hey! I don't have a bad hairstyle. It happens to be fucking awesome, thank you very much," Edward said indignant.

"Yeah, whatever, Twinkle. Now go get a room! Oh wait, you already have one… Now get out of here!" Rose replied playfully, spanking him lightly.

"Don't spank him! I'm the only allowed to do that," I said.

"Oh. My. Fucking. God! You see, Edward? You see how you are fucking king and queen of TMI? Now I'll just have that disturbing image in my head… Ugh! Emmet!!" Rose yelled as she walked away.

"You want to get out of here?" Edward whispered to me. I just nodded.

We quickly said goodbye to everyone. Well, everyone we could. Zafrina was nowhere to be found, I guess she took off with Mr. Waiter; and Kate and Garret were having a very heated argument that we didn't dare interrupt.

The ride back home was a little tense. Alice and Jasper were riding with us, since he had left his car at our building. Alice was seriously drunk, and by what we could hear and unfortunately see… she was the horny drunk type. Edward had turned up the music to silence the moans coming from the back seat.

We finally arrived at our building –Thank you, dear Lord- and went our separate ways. We greeted the doorman and quickly stepped into the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, I attacked Edward.

I was kissing him with everything in me, practically tongue-raping him, although it wouldn't be rape since he was a very willing participant.

My hands roamed greedily down his body, tracing his chest, feeling his hardened nipples through the thin material of his shirt. He let out a groan when I pinched one softly. He kept his hands firmly gripping my hips and every now and then, he would move them to caress my thighs.

I started trailing south, and I stopped at his abs, feeling every plane and indentation of his muscles. Before I came to New York, he used to spend his free time –which was a lot, at the time- in the gym, so he was really toned.

I continued my descent until I felt his hardness. I cupped him with one hand while I stroked his length with the other. Edward was panting in my ear, and I moaned loudly when he bit down on my earlobe. In that moment, the doors opened and we jumped back.

Standing outside the doors was Mr. Newton, a really cranky and creepy old man who lived in the apartment next door to Peter and Charlotte's. He stared at us with narrowed eyes, like we were some dirty perverts. He was probably right since we were five minutes away from having sex in the elevator.

Feeling really self-conscious, we stepped out of the elevator and walked to our apartment, putting a three feet distance between us since Mr. Newton was still watching us.

Edward opened the door, and the second the lock clicked, I resumed my attack on him. However, this time he didn't respond. He gently untangled himself from my arms and pulled back a little to look into my eyes.

"I have one more present for you," he said softly.

"Ed…Edward… but you…" I was stuck for words. After all he had done today, the massages, Angela, Rose, the club…

"Please Bella, just wait for me in the studio, I'll be right there."

"Okay," I responded lamely. I could not believe how amazing my man was.

I walked slowly toward the studio. I was looking over my shoulder, trying to see or hear what Edward was doing as I opened the door. I turned my gaze forward, and letting out a loud gasp, I slammed the door shut again.

My eyes were wide and my breathing was erratic. I took a deep breath and opened the door slowly once again, expecting what I had just seen to be only an illusion.

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_**Leave me a review! Tell me what you think there is behind that door… Sorry for the cliffie btw… Well, not really… Remember to stop by the Twilighted forum thread, where I will post teasers and some facts about the story. Outfits in my profile too. Love you!**_

_**Glossary for Chapter 5:**_

**Jeté****  
**_Jeté_ is a jump from one foot to the other (like a leap), in which one leg appears to be "thrown" in the direction of the movement (front, back or sideways). Whatever the direction your position stays with the same foot in front. There are several kinds of _jetés_, such as _petit jeté_, _grand jeté_, _en tournant_, _jeté entrelacé_, etc

**Relevé**  
Literally "lifted". Rising from any position to balance on one or both feet on at least _demi-pointe_ which is heels off the floor or higher to full pointe where the dancer is actually balancing on the top of the toes, supported in toe shoes. Smoothly done in some versions, a quick little leap up in other schools.

**Attitude****  
**A position in which the dancer stands on one leg (known as the supporting leg) while the other leg (working leg) is lifted and well turned out with the knee bent at approximately 90-degree angle

**Échappé**  
Literally "escaped". A movement done from a closed (first or fifth) position to an open (second or fourth) position. Pas de bourrée  
It consists of three quick steps i.e. behind, side, front.

**Pirouette****  
**A controlled turn on one leg, starting with one or both legs in _plié_ and rising onto _demi-pointe_ (usually for men) or _pointe_ (usually for women).

**Arabesque****  
**The position of the body supported on one leg, with the other leg extended behind the body with the knee straight.


	6. Birthday girl Part 2

**Im just going to ramble at the end. Enjoy.**

**I don't own my 2 flashdrives anymore... and neither Twilight. (Not that I ever had).**

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I felt Edward's arms around my waist, and he leaned closer to whisper in my ear, "Happy birthday, my beautiful, Bellarina."

"Edward… your studio…" I whispered. I still couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"No, baby girl, your studio."

I walked slowly inside the room, taking in everything around me. My studio. My very own dancing studio.

Edward had transformed the room into a beautiful dancing studio with floor-to-ceiling mirrors that covered an entire wall. In the opposite wall, he had installed a bar. I could tell he put a lot of research into this, because it was just the perfect height. The wood it was made from was polished beautifully, and its color matched exactly the honey hardwood floor.

The west wall was covered in black and white pictures of a ballerina in several positions. I moved closer to better appreciate the photos and realized that the pictures were of… me.

"Edward, where did you get these pictures from?" I asked him.

"Some I took myself from your recitals at Ms. Sophie's, others were sent by your mother, Rose, my mom and even your dad. Ben photoshopped them to make them all black and white and with the same background," he explained.

"They're beautiful."

"No, you're beautiful."

I walked towards the bar, barely grazing it with the tips of my fingers. I tenderly placed my hand on it, feeling the smoothness of the polished wood, and I started doing plies, until reality struck me.

"Oh my god, Edward! This must have cost you a fortune! I… I… I… can't… I can't let you do this!" I said, panicking.

Edward was quickly at my side, hugging me, calming me down from my little panic attack.

"Bella, first of all, it wasn't that expensive, really. The floor was already hardwood, and Peter got me a deal on the mirror and bar. He didn't even charge me for the installation, said it was your birthday gift."

"Second, it's not like I can return a custom-made, specially-ordered mirror and bar that are already installed and would be ruined if taken down."

"And third, this is for me, as much as it is for you. Do you realize that, except for tonight, I haven't seen you dance once since you arrived in New York? I want to see you dance in those red shoes I gave you. I hate that you have to spend extra hours at school to rehearse, because they are extra hours away from me. Now you can do that here, with me. I'll even play the piano for you while you dance. But the important thing is that we'll be together."

He tightened his hold on me, placing a tender kiss on my cheek. "And I wouldn't mind seeing you bend over in that little tight leotard," he added playfully.

I slapped his arm, muttering, "Smartass," and then I kissed him.

"I love you, Edward Cullen. I love you so much. Thank you for this and for everything you did today. It was perfect, you are perfect," I said against his lips, tears gliding down my cheeks.

"You're welcome, baby girl. You deserve this and so much more, and if I can, I'll give it all to you," he whispered in my ear, raising goose bumps on my skin

We didn't say anything else after that. We just held each other, listening to our breathing. After a while, Edward pulled slightly away, just enough to look me in the eyes. He was smiling his angel's smile.

"So what's the deal with the mirrors? Wouldn't it be enough to just have a big room with lots of space?" he asked, looking curiously around the room.

I took a step back and faced the mirror. "You need them," I said situating myself in first position, "to be able to see the movement," then switching to second. "To perfect it," closing my feet again in third, "to get in sync with your dancing partner," and then ending with a grand plié.

"Huh…" was all he said, walking towards me.

"Would you dance with me?" he asked, as he took a remote out of his back pocket. He pressed a button, and soft music started filling the room.

He took my hand and grabbed me softly by the waist with his other one. He swayed us gently in a sweet waltz, then he placed our intertwined hands above his heart. He pulled me even closer to his body and started skimming my neck with his nose.

He spun me around to face the mirror. Never letting go of me, both of my hands were under his, around my waist, and I closed my eyes, resting my head against his chest.

"So this is what they're for?" he asked.

I opened my eyes to look at our reflection. Edward was such a great dancer, leading me effortlessly. We looked like one of those couples from an old, romantic black-and-white movie. He suddenly took a step back, and as if I was reading his mind, I took one too, not letting an inch of space separate us.

"Can you see how in sync we are? How attuned to each other we are? We are two halves of a whole, Bella, we aren't complete without each other… I am not complete without you," he crooned in my ear.

As he spoke, his hands trailed up my arms until he reached my shoulder. He caressed them and started placing kisses along them and up my neck. I instinctively arched my neck to the side, enjoying the feeling of his kisses.

He pulled the zipper of my dress down, until it fell to the floor, exposing the black satin strapless bra I had underneath.

"Jesus Christ, baby girl," he whispered hhhhuskily, as his hands quickly found my breasts, massaging them softly and lightly pinching my nipples. I let out a soft moan as he dipped his hands inside the cups of my strapless bra, caressing the bare skin underneath.

"I thought we were dancing," I managed to choke out.

He smirked. "Yes, we are. Just not waltz, precisely," he replied suggestively.

I pushed my lycra shorts down, leaving me in just the bra and thong I had specially purchased for Edward's delight.

I could see Edward's expression in the mirror. His hooded eyes were looking up and down at my reflected self. I could feel his intense smothering gaze on me, setting me on fire.

I felt like I couldn't take anymore of this sweet torture. I needed to touch him or I would die. I needed to share this pleasure with him. I tried to turn around so I could finally kiss him, but he wouldn't have it.

He tightened his grip around me, not letting me move an inch. "I want you to see what I do to you, and I want to see your face as you feel every sensation."

"Oh God…" I moaned, as I realized what he wanted. Unconsciously, I closed my eyes, feeling every nerve in my body tingle with electricity.

"Open your eyes, Isabella," he commanded. "Look at me. Look at what I do to you."

I opened my eyes and saw him undoing the front clasp of my bra with one hand, and with the other, he started unbuttoning his shirt until he shrugged it off.

It felt so intense to feel his naked torso on my bare skin, as if he had never touched me before. We had never been into toys and stuff like that, so adding this bit of kink to our sex life was exhilarating.

I watched as Edward leaned over my shoulder, licking, nipping, sucking and kissing the skin there, never breaking eye contact. It was such a turn on to see how he sunk his teeth softly into my skin, while he stared intensely at me through the mirror.

He started pinching my nipples, softly at first and then harder and harder each time, until they were really sensitive. Then, he flattened his hands, and using just the palms, he lightly grazed each peak. The feathery touches felt amazing, and the sensation made my entire body shiver.

I reached behind me to touch whatever part of him I could. Feeling the coldness of his jeans' button, I dipped my hands lower, searching for his hardness. He let out a low growl as my fingers grazed his length. I started stroking him more roughly, and he responded by sucking harder on my shoulder and tugging my panties down, until they slipped to my feet.

"Look at yourself, Bella. You are so perfect, so incredibly beautiful, that sometimes I feel like you are going to disappear," he murmured softly to me, caressing my cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm yours. Forever," I said to him with every bit of love and sincerity I could pour into my voice.

Passion overtook us once more, and within a second, his hands were all over me, caressing, stroking, touching, feeling.

I reached behind me again to touch him too, but I needed more. "Please, Edward, let me feel you."

In less time than I thought possible, his pants were pooled at his feet, and he was kicking them off along with his shoes. I realized that he had been going commando all night.

He pulled me flush against his body, and then started rubbing himself against my ass. I threw my head back against his chest, as his hand dipped between my thighs. I started trembling lightly form the intense pleasure, until he retrieved his fingers. "No!" I groaned, frustrated from the loss of contact.

"Wait," he said, lowering himself to the floor, sitting on the heels of his feet. He pulled me along with him, and with his knees, he spread apart my legs, so I sat on his lap with my legs on either side of his, still facing the mirror.

From this position we could see all of each other. My legs were wide open, exposing my wet sex. I could see Edward's dick right below me, standing fully erect, the tip wet with arousal. With a movement of his legs and hips, he started rubbing it along my slit, spreading the moisture all around.

I knew he was bigger than average, but seeing the contrast of him next to my slim form made him look enormous. I reached down and stroked him up and down, making him groan.

The tip of his cock teased my clit, and his hands deliciously massaged my breasts. The combination of sensations –feeling and seeing- were almost enough to make me climax.

My mouth hung open, as I was so hypnotized with the images reflected in the mirror.

Unconsciously, I lifted up a bit, and his tip positioned itself at my entrance. Edward stilled me by the hips and then lifted up, pushing just the head inside. A low throaty moan escaped my mouth as I felt him stretching me.

He pulled me back down to him and slid completely inside. The pleasure was so intense, I almost came undone. As he pulled away slowly, oh-so-torturously slow, I watched, mesmerized, as every millimeter of his cock came out of me, glistening with moisture.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from the sight, as he started sliding in and out rhythmically.

"Can you see the moment? The perfection in it?" h asked breathlessly, and I barely had the strength to nod. "Tell me, baby, tell me," he urged me.

"Yes… Yes, Edward, we are perfect… you are perfect for me," I answered.

He brought down one of his hands to flick my clit, and as if he had just turned a switch on, an intense orgasm overtook me. I couldn't help closing my eyes.

"Open your eyes, baby girl. I want you to see what I see when we make love. Your face as you come on my cock is the most beautiful thing on earth. "

As I came down from my high, he started moving faster and harder.

I leaned forward onto my hands and knees, making us both groan at the change of position. I could feel him go much deeper inside me now.

He grabbed me firmly by the hips and started pounding into me even harder than before. Loud, high-pitched 'Aah's' escaped me with every thrust forward he gave.

It was an incredibly sensual experience to watch Edward making love to me this way. His smooth movements were so certain.

His hands were so sure, so strong, so completely inescapable; his full lips were perfect as they parted gracefully over his gleaming teeth. He was glorious. I felt a sudden jolt of pride. He was mine.

His growls were becoming louder and louder, letting me know that his release was close.

He leaned forward and cupped my breasts that were bouncing with the force of his thrusts. From this new angle, he started hitting the most sensitive spot inside me. I slammed back onto him, meeting him halfway with each of his plunges, as I started feeling my orgasm build up once again.

I felt him twitch inside me and he released my breasts, grabbing me firmly by the hips once more, but now he was relentless as he rode me with abandon.

Our gazes were locked on each other's reflections, as we screamed together when ecstasy overtook us.

We collapsed to the floor, utterly exhausted and deliciously satiated. We lay side by side, facing each other. Words were needless in this perfect moment of bliss.

After moving to the bedroom, we spent the rest of the night making slow, tender love, and it was the perfect ending for the best birthday that I ever had.

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_**People! I'm been feeling really down lately. It's like this story doesn't want to be written... or published at least. A lot of things have been happening to me lately that keep me updating like I would like to. My husband doesn't let me go to the office anymore (No comp), my son got sick, I lost my purse (with a brand new digital camera, and 2 flashdrives. One containing chapters 6 and 7, the other containing the backup of said chapters...) So next update may be a while... again :(**_

_**So please, leave me a review to cheer me up and not give up on the story. :( Preety please?**_


	7. Work for it

_**Hello!!! :D Here I am again, I told you I wouldn't abandon you. Thank you so much for the support messages, they really cheered me up.**_

**_So I found another dancer Bella story that I'm sure you'll love as well. Its great, and totally different from this one.  
Pas de Deux by JenniP -_ _http://www (dot) fanfiction (dot) net/s/5439137/1/_**

_**A shout out to my betas Live720 and Tiffanyanne3. **_

**_I own a brand new pink cell phone, but Twilight... not._**

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_**Bellarina. Chapter 6**_

_**Bella:**_

To say that keeping up with the academy was hard would be an understatement. I was working my ass off… literally.

In one of my favorite classes, World Dance History, we were studying mideastern cultures. It was a really cool theme, and I loved learning about other cultures, their customs and traditions, but this was a dance school, so of course it had to be related to dance.

The not so cool part was that my team, -Alice, Zafrina and I- had to do a demonstration on said theme, aka a belly dance performance.

We had been rehearsing all week long, in my new studio of course, but it was so hard. Belly dancing was so different from ballet. Ballet was all about maintaining a center, a point of balance, and the movements, while graceful, are structured and precise. Belly dancing was all the opposite, so free, so fluid.

Alice was having a blast, of course. Being a contemporary dancer, she was used to that kind of movement, while Zafrina and I were busting our asses.

On top of that, I still had to prepare myself for the Winter Gala audition, so I practically lived in my studio now. It wasn't so bad though, since Edward was in there with me half the time. I loved that I was able to share this with him.

I loved the moments when he could simply watch me dance, or I could hear him play, and we could just enjoy each other's sometime he had so much school work, that he would just bring his study material in the studio and put some classical music on his ipod .

He had been so supportive, helping me in anything he could, playing music while I rehearsed, staying up late with me while I prepared for my audition, making diner when Alice and Zafrina were over. I felt like lately I had been just taking from him and not giving anything in return, but he knew I would do the same for him.

On Tuesday I woke up really early –it wasn't even seven. Edward was still sleeping soundly, but I needed to make the most of today since tomorrow was the performance, and Saturday the audition. I knew that I was more than prepared for both, but being cocky and taking things for granted wasn't going to do me any good, so rehearse I did.

I quickly and silently changed into a leotard and my pointes, before I headed to my studio. I put on some soft music to listen while I stretched and warmed up. When I felt ready, I changed the music until I heard the soft tune of my solo song hum out of the speakers and echo off the walls of the studio.. As I was preparing for the first movements, I suddenly felt an excruciating pain in my left foot. Involuntarily, a strangled scream escaped my chest as the rest of my body collapsed to the floor.

I tried to remove my pointe as fast as I could, but the pain clouded my reflexes, and my fingers were moving all wrong. I felt as though my foot was being bent downward and about to break.

I heard Edward's footsteps quickly approaching the room. "Bella? Bell… Jesus! What's wrong, Bella?!" He ran hastily to where I was laying, trying to assess what was happening to me.

"Cramp… foot," I managed to choke out as I clutched my foot, trying to relieve the sharp pain.

With a swift movement, Edward undid the ribbons that held my pointe firmly in place and gently removing it from my foot. I could now see the strained cords that forced my foot to bend in such an unnatural way.

He pushed my toes upward, trying to neutralize the involuntary movement, and with his other hand, he massaged the sole, relaxing the stained nerves. He continued the small movements for a couple of minutes until the pain began to ebb.

"Thank you," I sighed, relieved that the pain was completely gone now.

.

"Bella," Edward said sternly. I looked up, confused as to why he was using that tone. "Have you been eating alright?" he asked.

"Of course I have."

"Well, I don't think you have, this cramp just proves it," he scolded.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"It's a sign that your sodium and potassium levels are low."

I didn't know how to respond to that. I was aware of eating slightly less in quantity, but I still ate healthily. Before I could open my mouth, he sighted heavily.

"Just promise me you'll take better care of yourself, baby girl,"

"I will, babe, you know I always do," I replied sincerely.

After that, we ate breakfast together, and Edward nagged me until I agreed to eat a complete banana and some Gatorade to get my electrolyte level higher.

We walked to school just like we did every morning, reveling in the companionable silence. We kissed at the bottom of the stairs in front of the academy, but when I turned to walk up to the entrance, Edward pulled me back.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay? That was a nasty cramp this morning. It could make your foot really sore, or you could have another one. You could just skip school today. One day isn't-"

"Edward, babe, stop it," I said sweetly, smiling reassuringly at him. "I'll be fine."

"Okay," he breathed. "You scared me today, baby girl," he said as he cupped my cheek. "When I heard you screaming… I thought… I… I…" he stuttered and then shook his head as if shaking off a bad thought.

"I'm sorry," I said to him, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist.

"Okay," he said pulling away. He was smiling beautifully now. "Let's not dwell over nothing. I love you, Bellarina."

"Love you, too." I pecked him before he had to leave. He was actually running late now, because of me.

'Classical Variations' was my first class. I hurried to the classroom, not wanting to be late. Mrs. Carmen Astauburuaga –Mrs. A, for short- was a former choreographer for the Spanish Ballet, so her class was far from easy.

As we were stretching, Zafrina was retelling for the hundredth time the story of Santiago. Alice and I knew it by heart now.

"He's a law student at NYU, and only works weekends at the club. Oh, and you should see his apartment, so modern… so masculine…" she said dreamily.

"Jesus, he really must have a magic dick since you can't shut up about the man," Stefan said half annoyed, half joking, effectively cutting off Zafrina's rambling.

"Esteban!" Zafrina scolded him.

"Ugh! You know I hate that. 'Stefan,' repeat after me, Zaf. Eees… teeeh… faaahn…"

"Esteban," Zafrina responded, giggling.

I couldn't help but laugh at the little child fight they were having, but before they could start slapping each other, Mrs. A came in.

"Okay, people, I hope you've already warmed up properly," she said, as she clapped her hands twice. Immediately, she began instructing the variation we were going to be working with today, and then she divided us into teams to perform it.

I felt my confidence lift as Mrs. A set me as an example, but now in a good way, since I executed it perfectly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jane scowling at me, obviously green with jealousy, and I couldn't help but smirk.

In the last month, since classes started, I realized that Jane was a mediocre dancer with smudged technique. She probably just got into the academy because of daddy's money. It really explained a lot about her bitchiness. She was a jealous little brat, because she knew that every single person in here was a better dancer than she'd ever be, and no amount of money in the world could buy her that. After coming to that realization, all the hard feelings I had toward her were replaced by simple _pity_.

The rest of the day passed as usual. Zafrina, Alice, Stefan and I joking and goofing around, Jasper usually joining us in between classes. Although we mostly picked on Zafrina, who seemed permanently attached to her cell phone either texting or calling "Santi" as she called him now. She knew we were just kidding though. We let her know that we were all very happy that she had found someone, especially when she was so far away from her home.

As I was on my way out after classes were over, Alice caught up to me in the hallway.

"Bella, wait!" Alice called.

"Hey, Alice, what's up?"

"What's up? _What's up_?! Bella! We have a performance tomorrow!"

"Don't worry, Alice, we rehearsed plenty. I'm sure we'll be great."

"Oh, I know we're going to magnificent. But we aren't completely ready. How are we supposed to give a performance without proper attire?"

Oh, Jesus Christ! That could only mean one thing… a shopping trip… with _Alice_. I was suddenly very afraid.

Fortunately, I didn't have to be subjected to this torture alone, since Zafrina had to come with us, too. We went through the entire mall before we could settle on what we were wearing tomorrow. I thanked God and every deity I knew existed that we were dancing barefoot, because Alice found some six inch pumps that were the exact color of the top we had chosen.

"You know what else we could get while we are here? Halloween costumes!" Alice suddenly said excitedly.

Zafrina and I just stared at each other in horror, knowing that we couldn't escape the force of nature that was Alice. We spent a couple more hours looking for costumes until we found some that we liked. I got home thoroughly exhausted, but very eager for some much needed Edward time.

On Friday morning, we got up bright and early, and after a nice quickie in the shower and a light breakfast, we headed to the Academy.

Today he wasn't dropping me off as usual. He was actually coming in with me, which made me quite giddy. Since the performance was being held in the auditorium, we were allowed to invite people to watch us.

As we walked through the hallways, I saw more than two heads turning at the sight that was Edward, and it made me feel proud to be the one holding onto his arm. It made me want to yell, "Hey everyone, this is my man… as in MINE," but I restrained myself, instead a smug grin plastered itself on my face.

_**Edward**_:

We stepped into the auditorium, and I walked Bella to the backstage door. I kissed her and passed her duffel bag before she had to go and get ready. I took a seat in the third row where Jasper was sitting with Santiago.

Santiago was a cool guy. He had a slight Spanish accent, having grown up in Miami with Cuban parents. He was a very smart law student with a great sense of humor, so basically we got along just fine.

"What's up guys?" I asked as I took a seat.

"Hey, man," Jasper replied.

"Que hay, papi," Santiago greeted.

"So anyone get to see what the girls are wearing?" I asked.

"Not me, but Zafi said it was hot," Santiago said.

As he said that, Bella's teacher and classmates came in and took a seat in the rows in front of us. I noticed Stefan, and he waved at us before he took a seat with the rest of the class.

"Good morning, class," the teacher greeted. "And gentlemen." Obviously referring to us. "Today we are having a Lebanese dance demonstration performed by Miss Mary Alice Brandon, Miss Isabella Marie Swan and Miss Zafrina Alessandra Da Silva."

"Esa es mi nena!" Santiago yelled, earning us a stern look from the teacher.

She asked a bunch of questions –Jane raising her hand obnoxiously to respond to each and every one. When the teacher allowed her to speak, she stood up, and as she recited her answer –wrong- she kept looking at me, batting her eyelashes, and twirling a strand of hair around her finger. I guess she was trying to look cute or something, but she actually looked childish, ridiculous and pathetic. _Definitely not my type_.

After fifteen minutes or so, the teacher had someone lower the lights and some Shakira song started playing. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that both of the guys sitting beside me were, just like me, holding onto the armrests a little too hard, anticipating a sexy as hell show.

The auditorium went completely dark while the stage lit up softly. Little by little we began to make out the girls' silhouettes. They were lined up, moving their arms in an 'S' motion, looking very much like that Hindu deity that has several arms.

As the lyrics of the music began, the stage was illuminated completely and the girls stepped apart from each other. My eyes zeroed in on Bella and the fuckhot outfit she wore. She had black leather pants that clung to her like a second skin, a bluish-green top that showed her cleavage nicely, and one of those belly dance coin belts that rattled with every hip movement.

They did solos, Zafrina being the first one. I had to admit that even though she was not nearly as good as Bella, she was a very good dancer. Without a doubt she could make a living out of this. She started shaking her hips frantically, making her belt rattle rhythmically. As she did so, Santiago yelled, "Echale mamita, mueveme ese bote, preciosa!"

Jasper and I tried to chuckle as silently as we could, but the teacher heard us anyway.

"Gentlemen, this is a class, not a basketball game. Contain yourselves or I will have you removed," she hissed at us.

"Sorry, ma'am," we said in unison.

Bella was next. She was a vision in those leather pants and top that hugged all her subtle curves in a very enticing way. Her movements were slower than Zafrina's, but more pronounced. She jutted her hips out so much that it seemed like she had it disjointed. Then she would swivel it back and jut it out to the other side. She lifted her arms over her head and started strategically jerking her hips, making noise with her belt. With every movement she turned a little bit until her back was completely to us.

She started moving her entire body in a hypnotic snake-like motion and stopped when her hip was sticking out the most. It was in that moment that I realized that Bella's ass looked almost bare with those damn pants clinging so tightly to her. I felt the sudden urge to gauge the eyes out of every fucker in the room.

Bella turned her head to look over her shoulder until her gaze met mine. She jerked her hip once again to make her belt clink, then she smirked while still looking at me. Fuck! She knew exactly what she was doing.

She stepped back to allow Alice to take the center, and I had to start thinking about my grandmother in tights to rein in the steel hard-on I was sporting now.

Alice's style was very different from Bella's and Zafrina's, since she was a different type of dancer. I didn't know much about contemporary dance, or any dance, for that matter, but I could tell she was really good.

She started doing that shaky movement, bending to the left even more with each motion until she was completely bent into an inverse 'L' form. I'm pretty sure that the three of us looked like morons turning our heads to the side at the same time, trying to decipher if Alice really didn't come in two separate pieces.

She kept dancing a little more as, she started to bend backwards, moving her shoulders in a circular way until her face was almost level with her ass. As she faced us, she winked at Jasper and stood straight once again.

Santiago and I snickered, watching Jasper's jaw almost detach from his face. I had to give him a slight elbow when a little drool started coming out of his mouth.

The three girls danced together once again, continuing with all of the torturous movements. The music played its last notes, and the girls stood in a pose that looked like Charlie's angels in Bollywood.

We stood up immediately, clapping, howling and cheering for our women. As promised we were thrown out by the teacher. She even swatted Santiago's ass with a folder on our way out.

I wished I could have kissed Bella goodbye, but I was running late for class and I knew she had one more of her own.

After saying goodbye to the guys, I rushed to make it to my next class in time, but failed miserably. Dr. Meyer had already started the lecture. I walked in as quietly as I could and took a seat next to Ben.

The rest of the day, I tried to concentrate on my classes, reminding myself that I would need to know the stuff Dr. Meyer babbled about. But, I was fighting a losing battle, because the only thing I could think about was my gorgeous girlfriend and the way she swayed her hips in her fucking leather pants.

That night, Bella gave me a repeat performance at home. Only slower… with less clothes… and _other_ activities involved.

The next day, Bella was a total wreck. It was finally D-d-day, _Day of audition_. She woke up at fucking four in the morning to rehearse. I got up at 5:30, annoyed as hell, from the _thump-thump-thump_ noise she made when she did that little ballet tip-toeing thing.

It wouldn't bother me as much if I knew she was just rehearsing, but as I heard the thump-thump-thump again and again, I knew she was just repeating the same step over and over. That only meant one thing –she was panicking.

I made some coffee and poured a cup for her, preparing it just like she liked it –a lot of mikl and five sugars. I walked to the studio and leaned on the doorframe, watching her. I sipped my coffee, while I held hers in my other hand.

"Oh my God, Edward, you scared me!" Bella shrieked when she spotted me watching her.

"I'm sorry I stared I just can't help it when the sight is so beautiful," I said, walking toward her. I held out her cup and she took it.

"You're so lame," she muttered, ,,and I just winked at her.

She closed her eyes and smelled the rich aroma of the coffee. She let out a little sigh before she took a sip, and when she did, her face scrunched up in pleasure as she moaned. It was kind of funny, amusing actually. It was like watching someone revel in the delight of food after being in a desert. Then, as if she has sensed my amusement, her eyes snapped open and she shoved the cup into me, almost spilling the scorching liquid on my chest.

"You put sugar in it?" she yelled, and my eyes went wide as I witnessed her almost psychotic change of mood. "What the hell is wrong with you? I can't have sugar anymore! God, Edward!" She stomped out of the studio before stopping at the doorway.

"It's good to know you'll always have my back," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. I started walking out of the room, wanting to apologize, and then I heard the bedroom door slam.

Fuck! She's stressed out of her mind over this shit and instead of comforting her, I upset her even more. Way to go, asshole…

I went to the kitchen and sat down at the table. I intended to finish up my coffee and grab a bite, but I suddenly wasn't hungry anymore. I decided to give Bella her space. I didn't want to upset her even more, so I went to the guestroom. I lay down on the bed, trying to fall asleep again, but I just managed to stare at the ceiling and notice that the bed didn't smell of Bella, so sleep never came.

Eventually, I gave up on sleep and went to take a shower. I stood in the warm water, relishing in the soothing sensation, until it started getting cold. When I stepped out of the bathroom, I noticed the bedroom door open, and Bella gone. She must have been really mad at me if she left without saying good-bye.

I realized that if I stayed home waiting for her, I would lose my fucking mind, so I quickly threw on a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt and hoodie, and walked out of the apartment.

I needed to let out some steam, so I headed to the gym. I was in no mood to lift weights, so I just hopped on one of the treadmills. I set it up on a higher pace than I usually did and jogged until I was thoroughly exhausted.

I walked home at a lazy pace, making a plan in my head on how to make it up to Bella. It almost startled me when I see her sitting on the couch, hugging her knees, after I opened the door of the apartment. In that same second, she got up and ran to me, encircling her arms around my waist and pressing her cheek against my chest. I returned her embrace wholeheartedly.

"I'm sorry, babe. I'm so sorry I snapped at you this morning," she said against my skin, sniffling.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to upset you with the coffee, quite the contrary."

"I know, I'm so sorry. Can we just… forget about this?"

"Please," I answered her. I didn't want to talk about it anymore, so I changed the subject quickly. "So, how did your audition go?"

"I don't know, and I don't care anymore. What will be, will be, right? I did my best, and if they don't choose me after that, it will be their loss, so I'm not going to worry about it anymore," she said nonchalantly.

But if there was anything to be known about Bella, it was that she was very transparent person. I could see right through her 'big girl' façade. I knew if she didn't make it, it would crush her, so I just prayed to be strong enough to keep her from breaking.

* * *

**_Please reviewwwwwwww!!! They make my heart all warm and fuzzy :) _**

_**No glossary in this chapter, instead some translations for Santiago.**_

_**Que hay papi:**_

_What's up, man__**.**_

_**Esa es mi nena:**_

_That's my baby._

_**Echale mamita, mueveme ese bote, preciosa**_

_Go baby, shake that bum for me, gorgeous._


	8. Frightening Night

_**Hi guys!! Wow... this feels good after such a long break. I apologize, a lot has happend, but I won't bore you with details. Let me just say THANKYOU to everyone supporting this story. It's invaluable.**_

_**I'm sad to announce that Live720 is no longer a part of my beta team. She is a great beta and I'll miss her a lot. Tiffanyanne3 is still with us, and I'm searching for a second pair of eyes with PTB. Thanks by the way.**_

_**Ahh Im anxious to get this show started, to hell with a/n's.**_

_**I dont own Twilight... In case you where wondering...**_

* * *

_**Bellarina. Chapter 8**_

_**Edward:**_

Ever since the audition, Bella refused to talk about it anymore. When I did bring up the subject, she just flipped me off like she did that day. But as her mouth said _"It's no big deal,"_ her eyes screamed "_I want this more than anything__!"_

Things had slowed down quite a bit since there were no more impending performances that Bella needed to rehearse for. The only impending event was the Halloween party that the Academy hosted every year. Bella had already bought her costume. She hadn't let me see it, but I suspected it was a nurse costume since I was _commanded_ to go as a doctor.

It was a Friday, and as usual I got out of classes early. I got home and once again, Bella was not there. I was checking the kitchen to see if she had left me any notes when I heard the front door slam shut.

"Bella?" I called out as I opened the kitchen door to head into the living room. I didn't even walk two steps before Bella's body slammed into my own, knocking me off my feet. She wrapped her arms around my neck and peppered my face with kisses.

"Not that I'm complaining, but to what do I owe the pleasure of this greeting?" I asked her.

"I made it," she said, smiling widely.

"Made wha_- __the audition_?! You got the lead role?" I asked excitedly.

"Well, not precisely the lead role," she said sheepishly. "I got the Odile part, who is basically the bad guy's slutty daughter who just wants inside Siegfried's pants, but it's still one of the principal characters. And I'm the lead's substitute. But that's still good, right?" she said, smiling shyly.

"Of course it is—it's great. So who got the lead role?" I asked absentmindedly.

Her face fell, and she answered quietly. "Tanya."

_God, I'm such an ass…_

"Let's go out and celebrate," I said, trying to distract her. "Do you want to go out? We could grab something to eat at the Italian place."

"No!" she answered, a little louder than necessary. "I mean, I'm not hungry. I had a late brunch with the girls earlier today. But we can still go out if you like."

"Sure…" I answered flatly. Truth is I was a little upset that she had eaten without me, knowing I would be waiting for her; she hadn't even called to let me know. But knowing her, she must've been too shy to say no. Maybe the girls wanted to celebrate with her as well, so I would keep my mouth shut, and wouldn't start an argument that would make her feel bad about spending time with her friends.

We decided to do something relaxing, so we spent the afternoon in Central Park, lying in the soft grass and looking at the clouds, trying to find figures in them.

We got home at six, just in time to get ready for the party. Bella made a beeline to the shower, and after a couple of minutes I followed behind, since I needed to shave.

Steam had already filled the room, fogging the mirror and the shower door, but I could still make out her slim figure under the warm water. I took a deep breath and I was immediately overwhelmed by the scent of strawberries, vanilla, flowers and _Bella_.

I forgot that I needed to shave. I forgot that we needed to get ready. I think I even forgot my own fucking name. The only thing I knew in that moment was that I needed to be closer to her. I needed to touch her. I needed to_love her._

My clothes seemed to have disintegrated from my body and materialized again on the floor, since I couldn't even remember taking them off in my haste. I slid open the shower door as quietly as I could, but she still heard me.

"Hey babe, want to join me?" she asked casually.

She had her eyes closed, shielding them from the shampoo that covered her hair, or else she would have seen the lust on my face and the fucking hard-on between my legs.

I pressed myself against her back, and whispered huskily in her ear, "Always." She let out a deep sigh and leaned back against me.

I finished rinsing her hair, lacing my fingers in it, massaging her scalp and then following its long length down her neck and shoulders. My hands found their way to her breasts and I caressed them softly, teasing her hardening nipples.

"You're supposed to be rinsing my hair," she teased.

"You had suds there…"

"Suuure," she said giggling. That carefree and sincerely happy sound, made my heart flutter, adding love to my lust. I no longer wanted a quickie in the shower. I needed to make love to my girl, convey with my actions how truly hers I was.

I turned her to face me, needing to see her beautiful eyes. I cupped her face and caressed her cheek with my thumb. Like magnets, we started drawing closer until our foreheads rested together. Our lips met softly and adoringly. I brought up my other hand to her face, cradling it in both of mine.

She pulled my bottom lip in between hers and bit down just enough to make me moan. My dick twitched, nudging her in the stomach. I grabbed her ass roughly, rubbing her against me, and it was her turn to moan.

Our kiss turned frenzied, our tongues dancing together deliciously and tasting each other. I sucked and nipped her bottom lip while my hands roamed her body. She reached between us, grabbed my hard cock and started stroking me.

Her pace was perfect, just fast enough and gripping hard enough. I dipped my hand between her ass cheeks until I could feel the edge of her entrance. I teased her, feeling the thick wetness of her arousal leaking out.

"Come on, babe," she panted. "I need you inside me."

"No need to tell me twice." I pushed her against the wall and hitched one of her legs over my hip. I guess I caught her off guard because when I tried to lift her other leg, she started to slip. I tried to catch her, but I lost my balance and fell backwards, bringing her down with me.

"_Ow_... son of a bitch," I muttered, rubbing my head where it hit the wall.

Bella was wide-eyed and had a strange expression on her face. All of a sudden she erupted in a wholehearted, booming laugh. I would have laughed too at my stupidity, but I was too distracted feeling how she was _very_ conveniently straddling my lap now.

My dick rested between her moist lips, soaking in her warmth and wetness. I knew she was ready for me, so without any notice I pushed inside her and her laughter abruptly ended.

This was actually more comfortable, since I could focus my energy on her and not on my legs giving out from the pleasure. I grabbed her legs and wrapped them around me. She brought her arms up to my neck, making me feel enveloped in a Bella-cocoon, and I held her really close to me with my arms tight around her waist.

I searched her lips and covered them with mine, kissing her with everything in me. My hands caressed her body, worshiping from the roundness of her ass, up her back, to her beautiful breasts, until I cupped her face with both hands.

It felt surreal to be connected this intimately with her. This was not a hot fuck –and God knows we had fucked like that. This was us loving each other ieaeee in the most pure and basic way.

I thrust up and she pushed down, never breaking the kiss, until we eventually had to breathe. We rested our foreheads together, and stared deep into each other's eyes.

"I love you," I panted. "I love you… so much, baby girl… _so fucking much_." There was so much emotion behind my words that I could almost physically feel my heart swelling, and even more because I could see the same emotion in Bella's eyes.

She didn't respond to my words; instead she took control. She shifted her legs, placing the soles of her feet on the floor and leaned back, bracing herself on my thighs. She slid up and then slammed back down hard, making me hiss at the intense pleasure.

"_Shit_… so… fucking… _good_…" I groaned between thrusts. She was tight as hell thanks to all those plies and shit, and even more so in this position.

I placed my hands on her hips, pulling her down to me harder. She hadn't said a single word, but her loud moans and whimpers were music for my ears, letting me –and my ego- know that she was enjoying herself_… __a lot__._

With three more thrusts she came undone, screaming and trembling violently in my arms, and with her fucking intense orgasm, squeezing my dick for all it's worth, it didn't take me long to follow behind. We stayed on the floor wrapped up in each other for a couple of minutes.

"Now I know why it's supposed to be quick shower sex and not slow shower love-making," she said.

I chuckled at her strange statement. "And why is that, my sweet Bellarina?"

"Because the water is so effing cold now!"

* * *

_**Bella**_:

After an incredibly cold shower, I finally went to get ready. Edward was in the living room waiting for me as I got dressed.

I took out my sexy nurse outfit and set it on the bed. I put on the stockings, held up by the white garter belt, and then I slipped the dress on.

_It felt wrong._

I went to see myself in the closet mirror and almost panicked at what I saw. The dress didn't fit me anymore. It was too big! I pulled the dress to the sides and gasped as I saw almost half an inch of extra fabric at each side of the dress.

I hadn't been losing any weight. My clothes fit the same. Maybe they gave me the wrong size at the store… or maybe I was bloated; after all I did have my period a couple of days after that. Yeah, that was probably it… _right_?

I couldn't dwell anymore on why the dress didn't fit me. Instead I had to think about how I would make it fit. I rummaged through my closet until I found a wide red belt that would hide the bagginess of the costume. I could match it up with a pair of red heels to add a hint of sex appeal_.__…__Perfect, and no one the wiser._

The party, which was held at the Academy's auditorium, was in full swing when we arrived, fashionably late. The place looked amazing. All the seating had been removed and replaced by lounge furniture and fluorescent lights. On the west side of the venue, was a large table with fancy drinks -non alcoholic I'm sure- and appetizers.

It was hard to recognize any familiar faces because of the fabulous costumes everyone wore. I spotted _the gang,_ as we had called our little group lately, chatting in a corner.

Alice looked beautiful in her Tinkerbell outfit. It suited her perfectly. I was surprised to see that Jasper had given in and dressed up as Peter Pan. He looked quite handsome, but I guess he was too much of a macho man to wear tights, because instead he had green pants. Still the costume looked great.

Stefan and Vlad came as vampires. They looked really good too, with the long black coats and Edwardian shirts they wore. Although I secretly their costumes were an excuse to wear makeup. I suppressed a giggle at that thought.

Zafrina looked amazing in her Amazon costume. She had a golden top made of little metal links and a short skirt in the same material. She had gold sandals with ribbons tied up all the way to her knee. She even had a sword and a shield tucked to the side.

Santiago was pretty much the male version of Zafrina's costume, with a vest and a larger skirt in the same material as hers, although I couldn't really tell what he was. A gladiator? A warrior? An A_man_zon?

We approached them and they all greeted us excitedly. Edward and I complimented their costumes as they did ours.

"Sexy, little minx nurse! I guess you and Doctor Eddie-ble here take very seriously the 'playing doctor' thing," Stefan said as blunt as always.

"Oh my God. Could you be more crass?" I responded, red as the fake blood painted in his lips.

"I'm going to get some drinks, baby girl. You want anything?" Edward whispered in my ear.

"Just water, please, with ice," I responded. He gave me a quick peck before turning toward the drinktable.

Zafrina, Alice, and I were suddenly alone as Vlad and Stefan were immersed in their own little love bubble, and the other guys followed Edward to find drinks.

"Hey Bella, what's with the belt?" Alice asked. "I don't remember it being a part of the costume."

"Oh, that's right! And you had bought white heels for this. I remember perfectly because I loved those shoes!" Zafrina added, unknowingly fueling Alice's suspicions.

"Umm…" I stammered. "I must've been bloated or something when I tried it on at the store, because when I put it on today, it was all baggy and loose. I put the belt on to make it look better and the shoes are to match the belt. That's all."

"Bloated…"Alice said incredulously. "Really, Bella?"

"Yes, Alice, bloated. As in 'I had my period right after that' bloated," I answered, annoyed.

"Okaaaay! Clearly girl talk," I heard Santiago say, suddenly behind me. I blushed deep red once again.

"It's okay, guys; the subject was over anyway," I answered. Both Jasper and Santiago looked relieved as they wrapped their arms around their respective girlfriends. I noticed then, that nobody wrapped their arms around me.

"Umm… Edward got caught up with a strawberry blonde fox by the drink table…" Jasper said nervously, noticing my uneasiness.

I whipped my head around so fast I almost got dizzy and spotted him with none other than Tanya. I stalked towards them, and I'm sure everyone could see the smoke coming out of my ears. The music was really loud, but I could clearly hear Tanya saying the words "real woman" to Edward, who was stiff as a board.

I snaked my arms around his waist from behind and he jumped a little, not expecting me, but I could see on his face that he was relieved.

"Hey, babe," I said too-sweetly and then turned my gaze to glare at Tanya. "I leave you alone for two minutes and the skanks descend"

Edward was clearly stunned to hear me talk so rudely to someone because he was staring wide-eyed at me. Tanya scoffed but retaliated immediately.

"Don't sweat it, Dorothy. I, unlike you, don't do sloppy seconds," she said before stalking off. It took me a minute to understand that by 'sloppy seconds' she was referring to me being her substitute in the Gala.

I don't know why her comment stung me so much, but I felt my eyes filling with tears.

_Maybe because I worked my ass off for that part… maybe because I did my go__ddamn best… maybe because even though I only got the 'Odile' and her substitute part, it was still great, and she was diminishing it all as if it were nothing._

"Come on, Bella. Don't listen to her. You know better than that," Edward said, handing me my water and pulling me out of my self-pity party. I took the drink out of his hands and took a long swig. My stomach rumbled a little bit, irritated at the lack of food in it.

A slow, romantic song started playing and everyone started pairing up on the dance floor. Alice and Jasper were twirling elegantly in a style totally unsuitable to the present time and music. Santiago was dipping Zafrina dramatically while he kissed her. Even Stefan and Vlad were dancing, swaying to the music, holding hands that hung limply at their sides, with their foreheads together.

"Shall we, Nurse Bellarina?

"Well, of course, Doctor Eddie-ble," I said, making him chuckle as he led me to the dance floor.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and he held me close by the waist. We started swaying to the music, feeling the beautiful words in it.

_I'll be your dream _

_I'll be your wish _

_I'll be your fantasy. _

_I'll be your hope _

_I'll be your love _

_Be everything that you need. _

_I love you more with every breath _

_Truly madly deeply do…_

The music was so beautiful. I closed my eyes and rested my cheek on Edward's shoulder. The swaying movement soothed me, lulled me. I started to feel like I was flying, weightless, ethereal...

Far, far away, I could hear a sweet, velvet voice calling my name_. __Bella… Bella…_

* * *

_**Edward**__**:**_

Bella rested her cheek on my shoulder and I leaned mine against her head. I kept swaying us to the music. I loved this song; it kind of suited us.

_I want to stand with you on a mountain. _

_I want to bathe with you in the sea. _

_I want to lay like this forever. _

_Until the sky falls down on me..._

I started to feel Bella leaning a bit too much on me, making it difficult to dance. I called her name and tried to pull away, but she stumbled forward, her head lolling limply to the side. I realized immediately something was wrong… very wrong.

I quickly lifted an unconscious Bella into my arms and made it to the nearest sofa. The girls sitting on it, stood up immediately for me to put Bella down.

As soon as I did, I checked her pulse and breathing. Both seemed normal, although her pulse was a little low for my liking.

"Bella? _Bella_..." I called her name, patting her face softly.

"Edward, what happened?" "Is Bella okay?" Alice and Zafrina asked almost at once, concern evident in their voices. They were at my side in two seconds along with the guys.

"I don't know_— just give her space_!" I said, probably too harshly, but hovering over her wouldn't help either.

"Edward, she's been losing weight too fast," Alice said. I turned to look at her like she was crazy. _What the fuck was she talking about?_ I lived with Bella; if she had been losing weight I would have noticed.

"Her dress was-" she tried to elaborate, but in that moment, Bella started to stir.

"Edward?" Bella called weakly.

"Hey baby girl, welcome back," I answered, trying to make the smile on my face look less forced.

"How are you feeling?" Zafrina asked sweetly.

"Dizzy... lightheaded, but I think that's a bit obvious," Bella responded, chuckling lightly as if there could possibly be anything remotely humorous about her fainting.

"You know what?" I said as I picked Bella up in my arms. "I'm taking you to the hospital; no buts, Isabella."

* * *

Bella had been silent for the entire two hours we had been in the exam room, waiting for her blood work results.

The truth is I hadn't been very chatty myself. I felt angry, mostly at myself for not noticing anything wrong, for not taking enough good care of her… _mostly_. But a little bit at Bella too, for not taking care of herself like she promised me she would.

Finally the doctor came in and informed us that she had a mild anemia, and her fainting was due to her low glucose level. Her electrolytes were also low, confirming what I said to her on the day of her audition. He sent her home with just an iron supplement and a pamphlet about nutrition.

I knew I was acting like a total douche, but I was feeling so fucking angry, disappointed, frustrated… I knew that if I opened my goddamned mouth I would lash out at her.

We got to the building and Bella got out of the car without even waiting for me to open her door. The silence in the elevator was so thick you could almost slice it with a knife. Finally, we stepped into our apartment.

I paced around the living room, pinching my nose and pulling at my hair as I thought about everything that happened tonight. Seeing Bella -_my__ Bella_- limp and lifeless, was the single most fucking terrifying moment in my entire life. I felt like screaming at the top of my lungs and crying like a little boy.

"Err… so… I'm still alive," Bella said, breaking the silence, but I wasn't ready to talk just yet.

"No harm done," she insisted.

"Bella," I whispered. "Do you have any idea how close I thought I was to losing you? How scared I was to see you stiff and immobile, pale white?"

"Edward, it wasn't a big deal. My sugar was low, and I fainted; it can happen to anyone," she said, somewhat nonchalantly.

"No Isabella, it didn't happen to anyone, it happened to _you_— _You__ fainted_… and I… I didn't take good enough care of you… I should've-"

"Enough!" she cut me off. "There's nothing to worry about. I'm fine, okay?"

"Bella," I said condescendingly while I rolled my eyes, annoyed. "You're obviously not exactly the best judge of what is or isn't fine."

"Well I know I don't have to worry about my health, and neither do you. I. Am. Fine, Edward," she said with finality.

I ground my teeth together. My hands balled up in fists at my sides. She was curled up on the couch, on the other side of the room and I hated the space between us, but I was still freaking out and I didn't want to upset her further or say something I would regret. I wanted to cool off before I touched her.

After a couple of minutes, I heard her sigh and cross the room to where I was standing. She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her head in my chest. At first I didn't move, still feeling the anger and frustration in me. But then I heard her murmur, "I'm sorry I made you anxious." I realized then what a fucking, idiotic prick I was being.

Here I was, moping and pacing about losing my Bella, when she was right here, comforting me, like the selfless, caring and loving person that she was. It should be _me_ taking care of _her_; after all she was the one who fainted, she was the one who had blood sucked out of her… she was the one who was _sick_.

I took a deep breath, inhaling her scent, and I wound my arms around her tiny waist, reveling in the softness of her body and the warmth of her hands on my skin.

"Anxious is a bit of an understatement, baby girl," I said, sighing. "I'm sorry I acted like such a dick. It's just that… even the thought of losing you…"

"I know. I would've reacted the same way, but you have to trust me on this. I'll be fine."

I trusted her with my life I really did. But I couldn't bear to think of this happening again.

"Please, Bella," I whispered into her hair.

"Please what, babe?"

"Please, for me. Please make a conscious effort to keep yourself healthy. I'll help you in every way I can, but you have to do your part as well."

"I'll work on it," she responded.

I tightened my arms around her before I spoke. "Do you really have any idea how important you are to me? Any concept at all of how much I love you?" I said, my voice nearly cracking with the amount of emotion in it.

She pressed her lips to my neck. "I know how much I love you," she answered playfully.

"You compare one small tree to the entire forest."

"Impossible."

But I'm sure it wasn't. Bella was my everything; my air, my sun, my heart. Almost like a drug to me. I couldn't live without her, and I would do anything for her. I would just about drag her out of the darkest pits of hell, if she needed me to.


	9. Perfection

_I'm sorryyyyyyyyy!!!! Sorry, sorry, so so sorry for the late update. RL has been a bitch, and you would cry if I told you what's been happening, just know it's been really hard for me._

_The next chapter (posted in a couple of mins) will be an important A/N, so check it out._

_Thanks to my beta Tiff, and to PTB for the beta'ing of this chapter._

_I don't own anything… not even a wedding ring anymore._

_K, peeps, here it is, finally…_

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"And… relevé!" Mrs. Von Wobeser said, clapping her hands as she marked the tempo.

It was the week before Thanksgiving. Rehearsals for the Gala had begun, with Mrs. Von Wobeser as a director. I loved that I could be a part of it. It was exciting and challenging, as well as exhausting and hard. Add to it, finals coming right around the corner, trying to lose weight and a smothering Edward preventing it, and you could really feel that the pressure was _on_.

Edward had been a tad more overprotective than usual since the fainting thing on Halloween. He was always hovering around me, checking my blood pressure, cooking 'healthy' for me, making sure I took my supplements… Just being a pain in the ass in general.

"Chassé… tondue… plié…" she continued, walking around the classroom. "And double pirou- Tanya!" Mrs. Von Wobeser stopped abruptly her instructions to glare at her. "Double pirouette, Tanya. What is the part of dou-ble that you can't seem understand?"

"I'm sorry Madame. I just thought that a triple would add complexity to the variation," Tanya replied, sucking up unashamedly to her. She'd been rather obvious about it ever since the 'truce'.

I guess she also felt threatened by me being her substitute in the Gala. With how freaking moody Mrs. Von Wobeser was, one false move meant she could kiss her lead role good-bye. Also, she hadn't been doing very well lately. She often needed to stop to catch a breath, lashing out at everyone and just basically being an attention-seeking-diva. I think she even fainted once or twice in the three weeks that we've been rehearsing.

"You will do a nice, _clean_ double, Tanya. Not the rushed, messy attempt of triple you just did. Maybe if you could execute it correctly I might consider it." Mrs. Von Wobeser replied coldly as ever.

She was quite demanding as a director, even more so than as a teacher. She was awfully strict and impatient, always expecting nothing less than perfection from everyone. But I was loving it and putting my soul into each rehearsal. The only thing I hated was that I had to be up at an ungodly hour in order to make it to studio number three by 7:30 AM. Mrs. Von Wobeser was not known for her tolerance, and given our history, I wouldn't dare to be a single minute late.

"One more time girls! And… relevé." I assumed my position once again to execute the routine.

"Perfect, Bella!" the teacher said, earning me a glare from Tanya and a general groan from the rest of the class.

"Bella, Bree, Heidi and Renata, please stay for a minute. The rest of you are dismissed."

I walked to where the other girls were standing, while we waited for the room to clear.

"Girls, I wanted to talk to you because all four of you, aside from Tanya, are the most promising ballerinas in my class. And I think it is my job as your teacher to talk about something you've so obviously been neglecting," Mrs. Von Wobeser said as she closed the door and walked toward us.

Panic began rising in my chest. I'd been working so hard, dedicating body and soul completely to my dancing. I've been watching my weight, counting calories, cutting out sugar, fat and carbs. I think I even lost a pound or two.

"A ballerina is the epitome of the perfect classic beauty. And I'm not saying beautiful doe eyes and plump lips. If when you are dancing, the audience notices that instead of your movements, you should definitely not be dancing. The audience must always be transfixed by the way you lift your arms, how you stretch your legs, by your every movement… by your body."

"Are you saying we are fat?" Renata asked bluntly.

"Not exactly, no. But I'm not saying you have the body required in this art, either," Mrs. Von Wobeser replied thoughtfully, choosing her words carefully.

"Ooh! I'm sorry. So you are just saying we are not skinny enough," Renata countered, raising her voice.

"Watch your tone with me, young lady. I'm trying to help you."

"Trying to help, _my ass_! I love to dance, I really do. But I'm not sacrificing my health for it. I come from a family of beautiful, large and curvy women. I'm 115 pounds, and I don't think I can get skinnier than that. You can't work with it? So sorry… I quit," Renata spat venomously.

I watched, stunned, how Renata lashed out at Mrs. Von Wobeser, then stomping out of the room, slamming the door on the way out. I turned my gaze to Bree and Heidi, who had the same horrified expressions in their faces.

Mrs. Von Wobeser sighed, seeming not fazed at all. "I guess sometimes apples can be red on the outside and rotten on the inside. Better take them out of the basket before they spread their fattiness around. Oh well… so girls, work your bodies. If I don't see results a week before the Gala, you're out. You are dismissed."

The three of us walked silently to the changing room to take off our pointes. I felt Bree and Heidi staring heavily at me, and I started to feel uncomfortable. I decided to make some small talk to break the silence. "So, do you think Renata-"

"Like you care," Bree cut me off and stalked out of the room followed closely by Heidi who muttered just loud enough for me to hear, "fucking kiss-ass."

I tried not to think much about my classmates' harsh words, but they did hurt. I'd done nothing to deserve their hate! Feeling a bit down, I walked to the girls' bathroom, needing a moment for myself.

I pushed the door open and saw Tanya washing frantically her hands. Her face was blotchy and her eyes bloodshot.

"What the fuck are you staring at, Dorothy?" she snapped.

"Sorry," I muttered, keeping my gaze on the mirror in front of me.

Seeing us both in the reflection, standing side by side, I couldn't help but notice how different we were.

I wasn't fat… kind of. But my arms were a little thick and my hips a little too wide. I had two small bags of fat at each side of my waist, commonly known as 'love handles'.

Tanya was slimmer than me, her figure long and lean. Her arms were thin and perfectly toned. You could make out the definition of her abs even through her leotard. She was the epitome of perfect, classic beauty… the perfect body.

"How do you do it?" I blurted out without thinking, regretting the words as soon as they left my mouth.

Tanya stopped her frantic scrubbing and slowly raised her gaze to meet mine. I was bracing myself for her wrath, feeling the sudden urge to flee, but my feet were glued to the floor.

Her eyes glazed and the anger in them dissipated, replaced by what seemed like intense sadness, but only for a moment. Just as quickly, her face went blank of any emotion.

"It's all about what you choose to live for," she said, her gaze fixed in an absent point in the mirror. "You have to give yourself entirely to it. Never holding back, taking risks, never playing safe, and most importantly, you have to be willing to die for it." I blinked several times as I took in what she said.

"It's like, if you chose to live to fuck, it might be exhilarating. Meeting a different person each night, not entirely knowing how it will turn out. And you might get lucky finding a cock so big that will make you see God, but on the other hand, it could just give you AIDS… never playing safe, remember?" My eyes were impossibly wide, hearing her crude words… but oddly, they made sense.

She chuckled darkly, and looking down at her hands, she mumbled, "All she ever wanted, it was only one thing, it wasn't to be famous, or be able to sing…"

I looked quizzically at her, and just as I was about to ask her about her cryptic mumbling, she cut me off. "So think about it, Isabella."

She stomped out of the bathroom, but just as she was about to open the door, she said, "You really want to live to dance?"

Did I?

_Yes, I did._

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_And review please…_


	10. It's good to be home Or is it?

_Hellooo! Long time no read! But I'm here now, thanks for hanging in there._

_I want to give a shout out to LadySharkey1. Thank you so much for your support and your help _

_Tiffanyanne3 is my beta. I wuv her. 3_

_I now own a pink netbook yay! But Twilight, not._

After a long-a-Ass flight, we were finally in Forks to spend Thanksgiving with our families. My dad had picked us up at the Port Angeles Airport and we were just about to arrive at my house. Chief Swan would be over, with his wife Sue, later tonight to pick Bella up.

Both Bella and I had been under a lot of pressure lately with classes, finals dawning on us, Anatomy projects and rehearsals.

During the flight, as I watched Bella sleep against my shoulder, I thought about how I had been acting toward her, ever since Halloween. Of course, I had been worried sick about her, but I think may have been a little overprotective of her. She had made it clear how much that bothered her.

And this was the conclusion I came to: she was an adult, who could make her own decisions and take care of herself. I wasn't her father, thank God for that, and she didn't need me babysitting her either. If anything, it was only making her think that I didn't trust her, and that couldn't be farther from the truth.

"Don't you, Edward?" Bella asked.

I had been so deep in my thoughts that I didn't even realize that Bella and my Dad had been chatting all this time.

"Umm… Sorry, I spaced out. Don't I what?"

"I was just telling your Dad how much I love New York and that maybe we could stay there after graduation."

"I don't know, baby girl. Wouldn't you like a big house better, with a white picket fence and huge ass back yard, where our little army of Eddies and Bellies can run around?"

Bella gaped at me with her eyes almost bugging out and her face red as a tomato. I winked at her, and she playfully slapped my arm… although it hurt for real.

"Isn't that a little far ahead, son?" asked my Dad. He didn't like that I had always thought too much with my heart instead of my head. "You two still have a long road ahead. You both need to finish college, then there's med school, finding yourself an internship in a good hospital, residence…"

"Hmm," I mumbled as I shrugged, dismissing my dad's comment.

We finally arrived home, and as soon as my dad cut the engine off, my mom came running out of the house to meet us. I stepped out of the car and helped Bella out as well. Almost immediately, my mom's arms were around the both of us.

"Oh, my children, I've missed you so much! I've been so lonely without you around," my mom said. She took a step back to look at us, still holding one of our hands in each of hers. "You both look great. Love really suits you." A tear rolled from her eye, and I wiped it with the back of my fingers.

"Don't cry, mom. I promise we'll behave. We're not so bad, are we, Bella?" I teased.

"I don't think so, but if it makes you feel better, we'll even limit ourselves to only one dozen cookies… each," Bella joked, making my mother chuckle.

"I know, I know. I'm just overemotional, you know how I am. Old menopausal Esme… it's too bad about the cookies though. If you'll only eat a dozen each, I'll just have to give the other five dozen I baked to the kids at the Rez…"

"What? _No_! Those are mine!" my Dad yelled.

We all laughed and continued to joke as we grabbed our bags and made our way into the house. As soon as I stepped in, I heard a loud, booming laugh that echoed throughout the house.

_Emmett… and that meant Rose_.

I actually liked Emmett very much; he was a great guy, smart and ambitious. But I guess those would be mandatory prerequisites for someone getting a Masters in Aeronautics at fucking MIT. Most importantly he treated my sister _right_, like the princess that she deserved to be. Of course, I had to make a conscious effort of blocking mental images of him making out and copping a feel of my baby sister at Bella's birthday party, or I would always have the urge to castrate him.

"Twinkle!" Rose's cheery voice echoed through the living room as she skipped –yes, skipped- to hug me.

I tried to mock her by imitating her high-p-itched voice and her childish antics. Maybe if she saw how ridiculous she looked…

"Twinkle star!" I said, as I hugged her effusively.

"Are you sure you're not his beard?" I heard Emmett saying to Bella.

"Not really…" she replied.

I turned to look at Bella through narrowed eyes. She just winked at me and blew me a kiss.

"Sup, man. Nice to see you again," Emmett greeted me.

"You, too. Although I'm surprised to see you here. I didn't know you were coming," I replied as I shook his hand.

"Oh, Em and I have an announcement, but you'll have to wait until tomorrow," Rose said, and my eyes widened. What kind of announcement do you make with all your family gathered and on a holiday… surely she's…

"I'm not pregnant, you asshole. Just by seeing your face, I could tell you were thinking it. I mean, come on, twinkle, give me a little more credit. No glove, no love."

Now I was just plain horrified. Emmett and Bella were laughing their asses off at the look I had plastered in my face. Rose put her hands on my shoulders and smiled sweetly at me before she spoke.

"You owe me four years of TMI, and I'm going to make you pay Oh-Dear-Twinkle."

I think everyone in the room was able to hear my audible "_gulp_".

We had been lounging in the TV room for a little while, just chatting and catching up. Bella stood up from her place –cuddled by my side- to take her sturdy coat off.

"Oh my fucking God!" Rose yelled. Her eyes, wide as saucers, were staring at Bella. "Edward, where the hell did you leave Bella's other half?"

"Excuse me?" Bella said through clenched teeth, glaring at my sister. Truth be told, I also had no clue what Rose was talking about either.

"Bella… you… you look… _anorexic_," Rose stuttered.

"What did you just say?" Bella asked, seething.

"It's just… I mean… _Look at you_!"

"I. Am not. Anorexic. I eat perfectly _fine_, Rosalie. And that is just a stupid thing to say, because only stupid people would do that to their bodies. But thanks, it's nice to know you think so highly of me."

Bella quickly grabbed her coat and stormed out of the room. I turned to glare at Rose, who was gaping –along with Emmett- at the spot where Bella had been.

"Fucking A, Rosalie," I spat at her before running after my girl.

The front door was slightly ajar, so I knew where she was. I stepped outside, and there she was, sitting in the porch swing, hugging her knees and crying quietly.

"Hey," I said softly. She looked up at me, and I saw her red-r-immed eyes and pink nose.

"Hey," she said back, sniffling.

"Are you okay?" I asked her as I took a seat beside her on the porch swing.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "It's just … it's just… that…" she tried to say between hiccups. I pulled her against me and wrapped my arms around her. I started rocking us softly in the swing so she could calm down a little bit.

"So… it's just that…" I inquired when she had stopped hiccupping.

"It's just that I feel like I've had it coming from everywhere lately." Her eyes teared up again as she started talking.

"Why would you feel like that, Bella?"

"Why wouldn't I? Everyone hates me in the Academy. No one aside from Alice, Zafrina and Stefan talks to me, unless it is to make fun of me or call me names. I can't get Tanya off my back, since apparently I'm not good enough to be her freaking substitute. I'm working my ass off in rehearsals, but Mrs. Von Wobeser still feels the need to tell me I better be perfect a week before the Gala, meaning I suck. And then…" she cut off abruptly, looking down at her hands.

"What, baby girl? And then what?" I asked softly, nudging her chin with my finger so I could see her eyes.

"And then… _you_. You've been hovering over me ever since Halloween, and it's nice that you take care of me. It makes me feel wanted and loved, but you've kind of been a little smothering."

"I'm sorry, baby girl. I'm _so_ sorry." I felt my heart breaking a little, because I knew exactly what she meant.

"No, don't be," she said, squeezing my hand reassuringly. "I know where you were coming from with that, and I would've been the same if things were the other way around. But I couldn't help but feel you were treating me like a bratty little child instead of your girlfriend.

And then we came here and I thought I was finally going to get a break. We haven't even been here for three freaking hours and I'm already getting crap from Rose…"

"I'm sorry, Bella." She tried to cut me off, but I held my hand motioning for her to let me talk.

"I know I've been an insufferable asshole to you these past weeks. In my defense, that was just me being scared out of my fucking mind about anything ever happening to you. But I did a lot of thinking during the flight… I've said a lot of times that I trust you, but I haven't been really showing it. I realize that you are a beautiful, smart and mature woman, and you are capable of making your own decisions. I'm sorry, baby girl, you didn't deserve the way I treated you."

"Thank you," she said softly.

"About Rose… just… ignore her. It's not true, what she said, at all. She doesn't know everything you've been through. I know school is hard enough, and it wasn't my intention to make it even harder for you."

She sniffed a couple of times before jumping into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck like her life depended on it.

"I love you, babe," she whispered in my ear.

As if on cue, we heard Chief Swan's police cruiser approaching down the driveway. It gave us just enough time for Bella to climb off my lap. I knew that shit wouldn't fly with the Chief.

He parked in front of the house and stepped out of it. Then he opened the passenger door for his wife, Sue.

"Bells!" the Chief yelled excitedly and Bella ran to hug her father.

"Hey, Dad," she greeted him.

"God, I've missed you!"

"I hope it's not only because of my cooking," she said in a teasing tone.

"Dang! You caught me."

I walked down the steps to greet Sue. "How do you do, Mrs. Swan?"

"Oh, Edward, you know better than to call me that. It makes me feel like an old lady," she said, winking at me.

"Sorry, Mrs. –Sue "

"Now that's better. Come here and give me a hug. You look great!" Sue said. I gave her a brief hug and turned to greet the Chief.

"Edward, it's good to see you, son," he said, as we shook hands.

"Likewise, sir. It's good to be home."

"Amen to that!"

I retrieved Bella's bag from the house and put it inside the cruiser's trunk. Then after an affectionate goodbye from my girl, she got into the cruiser and Chief Swan drove away.

She was going to be back tomorrow morning to help my mom cook the Thanksgiving dinner, but I was already missing her like crazy. You would think that I wasn't going to see her in days, but this would be the first time in almost three months that I would sleep without her soft, warm body curled beside me.

I had wished so much she could just spend the night, but what was I supposed to say to her father? "Sir, I know you haven't seen your daughter in three months and you miss her, but I was wondering if Bella could stay over. Because, with all due respect, I'm a horny bastard and you know what a bummer it is to let a perfectly good morning wood go to waste…" Yeah… I didn't think so… I liked my balls exactly where they were.

Between this and Rose, I was sure this was going to be a looooong weekend…

_Please have in mind that what Bella says regarding people suffering from any eating disorders is NOT my personal opinion. It was just the character's state of mind at the moment._

_I apologize profusely if someone was offended by that particular line, I DO know that an eating disorder is a serious illness, not to be taken lightly._

_Please leave me your thoughts about this chapter. Do you feel the angst coming? Review, pretty please _


	11. Bless this food, Lord

**Hello! Thank you for hanging in there for me, it means the world. I'll rec some stories in the AN at the end, show them some love please.**

**Tiffanyanne3 is my beta. Thank you, girl :)**

**My son now owns a big blue Buzz Lightyear backpack with wheels. But neither him or I own Twilight.**

**WARNING: On a 1-10 disturbing scale, I think this chapter is about an 8. Read with caution.**

**Bellarina. Chapter 11.**

I was so happy to see my Dad. I'd missed him a lot. Unlike Edward, I wasn't used to being apart from my family and I was really looking forward to spending some time with them.

My Dad had married Sue a couple of years ago. I was really happy for him, since he had been alone for so long, and I was really grateful that now that I wasn't living in Washington anymore, he had someone to look after him. Plus, Sue was such a great woman. She had been widowed a long time ago, leaving her to raise her son, Seth, all by herself.

I loved Seth. He was the brother I never had, always looking out for me. Actually, he had been a really good friend of Edward's in High School. Although I hadn't spent as much time with him as I wished, since he left for UW when Edward left for NY, right after our parents' wedding.

We soon arrived at our house, and just as I expected, Seth's truck was already parked outside. I rushed out of the cruiser and into the house to meet him.

"Seth!" I called.

"Bellie-Bellarina!" he yelled from the living room, using a very funny Italian accent. I ran to him and hugged him as hard as I could, but I couldn't compete with his animal strength that almost crushed me.

"Damn girl, is that man of yours feeding you at all? You're light as a freaking feather," he said as he appraised my figure.

"Yes, Seth. He is. Just remember I'm a ballet dancer; I'm expected to be light," I said, chuckling a little.

"Huh… oh well. So, come on, tell me everything about New York! I bet you've already forgotten all about The Mariners to become a filthy Yankee."

"Yankee? Never!" I saw a big, smug grin appear on my brother's face, but it disappeared as I said, "I'm a Mets girl now."

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We stayed up until almost midnight, telling him stories about New York and life with Edward, while he told me what it was like to be a college guy living in a Frat house.

The next day I didn't get up until nine. I knew that Sue had already cooked an enormous breakfast for all of us because I could smell all kinds of delectable aromas all the way up in my room. The delicious smell of bacon overwhelmed my senses, making my mouth water and my stomach rumble.

I stepped into the kitchen to find my dad and Seth already seated at the table, almost inhaling the deliciousness that was Sue's breakfast. She has made her famous Belgian waffles with pecans, crispy bacon, hash brown, scrambled eggs and freshly sliced fruit.

I was about to dig into the bacon, but when I saw the stain of grease it had left on the absorbent paper, I came to my senses.

I remembered everything Mrs. Von Wobeser has said to me. I needed to take better care of my body, and a holiday didn't mean that I was allowed to stuff myself like a pig.

"Oh, Sue, I just remembered that Rose asked me to have breakfast with her. I forgot to tell you last night, with all the excitement about coming home and all… So, umm… I'll just have some fruit, if that's okay." I felt bad for lying but I didn't want to deal with questions this early in the morning.

"Oh," Sue said, sounding a little disheartened. "Well, help yourself dear. Here's the fruit, and I think there's some yogurt in the fridge if you like," she offered.

"Sure, thanks."

I opened the fridge, looking for the yoghurt, but I frowned as I spotted it.

"Would you happen to have fat free yoghurt?" I asked.

Seth and my father laughed wholeheartedly before Dad answered. "When have we bought that crap here, Bells? I'd rather drink expired milk."

"I guess you would," I mumbled. "I'll just have the plain fruit, Sue, thanks."

"Help yourself, dear," Sue responded. I grabbed a plate and picked some pieces of cantaloupe, watermelon and pineapple. I ate as slowly as I could, enjoying the juicy sweetness, but when I finished, I still felt it wasn't enough.

A while later, Sue and I were arriving at the Cullen house to help Esme with tonight's dinner. She greeted us at the door and while the two of them headed to the kitchen I went to find Edward.

I had missed him a lot. I couldn't believe that even though it had only been merely twelve hours, it felt like a lot more. I felt incomplete when I woke up this morning, without feeling his warm body next to mine. I just needed to see his beautiful face again.

As I reached the top of the stairs, Rosalie was coming out of her room. We both froze as we saw each other. I wasn't expecting to see her, and I certainly still felt a little hurt from her comment yesterday.

"Um… hi, Bella. I saw Sue's car parked outside and I was actually coming down to find you. Do you mind talking to me for a few minutes?" she asked.

"Sure," I answered warily.

She motioned for me to enter her room. I stepped in and took a seat on the white couch next to her perfectly made bed. Rosalie sat in the open space next to me and folded her hands in her lap, looking down at them as she began speaking.

"I'm sure I hurt your feelings yesterday, and I don't want to do that again. You are my sister," she almost whispered.

"Don't worry about it Rose, it's fine."

"I'm really sorry, Bella. I didn't mean it that way. It's just that you look really different from when I saw you at your birthday, even though it was just a couple of months ago." She looked up at me as she said this, her gaze sheepish.

"I've been training really hard lately; it's natural that I'm different…"

"I know, Edward told me last night. He almost chopped my head off, by the way."

I chuckled a little at her comment. That was just a typical overreacting-Edward reaction. "I bet he did, but seriously Rose, let's just forget about it. I think I overreacted too, so that has to make us even, right?"

Rose smiled faintly for a moment, but I noticed she was still tense. "Just… just let me say this please. I guess I was… jealous. I'm sorry, Bella…" she pleaded, looking once again at her hands. Her voice had gone back to being just above a whisper.

"Jealous? Why on earth would _you _possibly be jealous of _me_?" Rose was beyond beautiful, with her amazing body, piercing green eyes and long, blonde hair.

"I don't know how much Edward has told you about when we were kids… but this body you see today is the exact opposite of who I was as a little girl…"

"Well, I think Edward once told me you were a very cute, chubby, little girl."

"Yeah… chubby isn't the term I would go for. Obese is more like it. And it wouldn't have been such a big deal if I had just been a lazy chubby kid, but I wasn't. I went to ballet, tap, gymnastics, swimming, soccer, track… you name it, I did it. And still I was the fat girl that looked monstrous beside all these little petite ten-year-olds. When I turned twelve my mom took me to a nutritionist and hired me a personal trainer. Still it wasn't until I hit puberty that I started to lose weight. "

I thought about this for a moment. It must have been very hard for Rosalie growing up with the expectation of being small and thin, just like her friends, but still couldn't get to it even if she tried harder than them.

"Do you remember when we met? What a bitch I was to you?" I nodded, remembering clearly the uncalled for coldness she treated me with in those first months. "I was so jealous of you, Bella. With your timeless beauty and your perfect ballerina body…"

"Rose, what are you talking about? I was, and still am, just a simple-"

"You obviously don't see yourself clearly," She cut me off and continued. "But anyway, it wasn't just that. It's just that… it's always been effortless for you. While I dyed my hair, paying two hundred dollars for 'natural highlights', spending hours in the gym to be perfect, you just tied your hair in a messy ponytail, and went to your six-hour-a-week ballet lessons, and you were… _perfect_."

I was stunned by everything that Rose had told me. Over the years, we became really good friends, and I loved her to death just because she was Edward's sister, but we had never had a heart-to-heart. Sure, she had given me the third degree after Edward introduced me officially to his family as his girlfriend. But I had never seen her so humble and vulnerable.

"Thank you…" I said.

It was an understatement considering all the feelings she had poured out and had equally emanated in me, yet as hypocritical as it was, I couldn't do the same. I couldn't tell her how small and unworthy I felt, how even though I had danced ballet all my life, it still wasn't enough because I wasn't good enough… how I just wasn't enough… in every sense.

I turned to face Rose and wrapped my arms around her; it took only a few seconds before she hugged me back. We pulled back and looked at each other awkwardly.

"So your hair…"

"Yeah, I'm not blonde, now shut it. We can't all pull off the _bronze_," she said drawing out the last word dramatically, and effectively ending any awkwardness.

* * *

I walked out of Rose's room and down to my original destination. I knocked softly twice, but heard no answer, so I I pushed the door open quietly.

The image before me was so adorable, I wished I had a camera to capture it. Edward was fast asleep, holding on tightly to a pillow, and curled in a fetal position. He looked so much like a little boy clutching his blankie at night. The only thing missing was for him to suck on his thumb.

I sat down gently beside him, careful not to wake him, but still he stirred a little, and rolled onto his back, revealing a very distinctive tent in his sleeping pants.

Well, good morning to you too. I think we could do some of that sucking, after all.

I tossed the pillow he had been clinging to the floor and took its place in Edward's arms. I guess he must've stayed up pretty late with his family, because he was sleeping like the dead –all this jostling and he still hadn't woken up.

I started nuzzling his neck, inhaling his essence, while my hand snaked its way under his pants. I stroked him once firm and slowly. A moan escaped him, followed by a groggy, "Bella…" I kissed his neck, leaving a wet trail all the way to his ear. My tongue traced the contour of the shell of his ear before I sucked on his lobe.

I felt a warm hand caressing my ass and I smiled victoriously.

"Good morning, babe." I whispered in his ear, using my best sexy voice.

"Mmm… definitely good."

"And about to get better." I pulled down his pants just enough for his dick to spring free. I kept stroking him while I kissed and licked my way down his neck, to his chest, paying special attention to his hard, little nipples; down his abs… his navel… _hello happy trail, lead me to the promise land…_

I kept a firm hold of him and with my tongue flattened, I gave him a long, slow lick from base to tip.

"Fuck, baby girl," Edward hissed, lacing his fingers in my hair and slightly pushing me down, asking me to stop teasing him.

I swirled my tongue around the tip, tasting the clear liquid oozing from him. I opened my mouth to take him all in and—

"Hey, Edward, your sister asked me to—_Holy fuck_!" Emmett burst through the door, and as soon as he saw us, he froze.

Edward quickly tried to cover us with the comforter but in my haste to roll off of him, I tangled in it and fell off the bed with a loud thud.

"Guess someone already said good morning to you, huh?" Emmett said, snickering.

"Emmett, get the fuck out of here!" Edward growled.

"Oh, right! Shit! Sorry… um… I'm gonna go now…"

I saw him turn around and then heard him mumble, "Guess now I know what all that fucking TMI talk is about…"

I peeked up from my spot on the floor beside the bed, still embarrassed as hell, to look at Edward. I could feel my face burning and my eyes wide as saucers. Edward was also red as a tomato, opening and closing his mouth, like a fish out of the water.

"Bella…baby girl… I'm… I'm sorry… I should've… should've thought about..."

A hearty laughter escaped from my chest. Edward was just staring at how I laughed my butt off from the embarrassment and absurdity of what just happened. I couldn't stop laughing, my stomach hurt, and tears were rolling down my cheeks from how hard I laughed.

"Bella? Are you okay?" Edward asked, his voice mixed with concern.

"I… blowjob… you… Emmett!" I managed to choke out between cackles.

"Edward, what the hell did you do to Emmett?" Rosalie chose that exact moment to come in unannounced, just like Emmett had done a minute ago. "He looks like he saw- FUCKING GODAMNED TMI EDWARD ANTHONY! Jesus Christ, people, can't you lock your door if your dick is hanging out? What is wrong with you both, pervs!" She slammed the door shut but we heard her still yelling profanities as she descended the stairs.

Edward and I just looked at each other and laughed until I had to run to pee. Of course, I covered him up; it wouldn't have been so funny to have Esme walking in on us next.

We were all sitting at the dining table, with our heads bowed, about to say grace. Carlisle and my Dad were seated at each end of the table. The food that Esme, Sue and I had spent all day cooking was displayed in elegant china across the table. The contrasting colors and rich aromas were making my mouth water.

"We give thanks to you today, dear God," Carlisle said solemnly, "for all that you have blessed us with, this past year. Thank you God, because we can be together in your name this day and enjoy this meal in health and wellness. Bless this food, Lord, and the hands that prepared it. In the name of our savior, Jesus Christ…"

"Amen," we all said in unison.

_Clink, clink, clink!_ Rosalie tapped her spoon on her glass to get our attention.

"I want to say something before we eat," Rose announced. "Umm… well… as you all know, Emmett and I have been dating for the past year. It has been the best year of my life, and I didn't want to let this day pass without saying how grateful I am for this man beside me…"

"Rosie…" Emmett said adoringly, his voice overflowing with emotion.

Rosalie started sniffling, and her eyes were watering up as she continued. "Emmett, you are the best that's ever happened to me. So I would like for all of us to raise our glasses, because the love—"

"—I proposed, she said yes, we're getting married. Cheers!" Emmett cut her off.

Rosalie froze with her glass in the air, her face red as a tomato, and just turned to glare murderously at Emmett. Carlisle and Edward had the same stunned expression on their faces with their eyes wide open, jaws almost touching the ground. Seth snickered quietly, while Sue was looking at everyone as if waiting for the earth to open right beneath us.

"Charlie, can you pass me the mashed potatoes?" Emmett asked casually.

"Sure," my dad responded, just as unfazed.

"OH MY GOD, MY BABY IS GETTING MARRIED!" Esme cried as she stood up to hug her daughter, knocking her chair over. Rosalie dropped her glass, spilling white wine all over the linen, to receive her mother in her arms.

"Jesus, man, congratulations," Edward said sincerely to Emmett, as he gave him a manly one-armed hug.

"Fhanksh, doo," Emmett responded, with his mouth stuffed full.

Esme and Rosalie where still hugging each other and crying, whispering "I love you's". Carlisle had yet to utter a word. He just stood up and wrapped his arms around both of his girls. It looked like such an intimate moment, that just by looking at them, I felt like intruding. Edward grabbed my hand and raised it to his lips, placing a loving kiss on the back of my hand. I looked into his beautiful green eyes and felt so overwhelmed by the emotion I saw in them.

"I love you," I mouthed.

"So much" he responded.

Meanwhile, Emmett couldn't be disturbed as he stuffed his mouth with sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and whatever he could fill his plate with, since the turkey hadn't been carved yet.

"Rose, baby, you gotta try this, it's unbelie—OWW!," he cried as Rosalie smacked his arm, hard.

"Asshole, I was making my grand speech!

"Sorry, baby…" he answered sheepishly, rubbing his arm.

* * *

After we all said our proper congratulations and best wishes to the newly engaged couple, we settled down to finally have dinner, Esme and Sue going around the table serving everyone. The food looked –and smelled—wonderful, I felt so proud that I had helped to cook most of it.

"Bella, I was asking if you wanted some green bean casserole," Sue asked me. And then it hit me…

_I was supposed to eat this._

It was as if I had flipped a record in my head and it was now playing backwards. I couldn't stop thinking about the sugar in the cranberry sauce, the pork in the turkey stuffing, the fat from the cheese in the casserole… calories… sodium… carbs… fat… pounds… overweight… fat… fat… _fat_…

"Bella?"

"Oh. Umm, no, thanks. I'll just have some turkey and sweet potatoes."

"Are you sure? You said you couldn't wait to taste it," Sue said, seeming genuinely concerned.

"Yea… I guess I ate too much of it while we were cooking…"

"Okay, sweetie. You can always have some more tomorrow." She started filling my plate up with what looked like enough food for five people, and topped it off with way too freaking much cranberry- "I want to be diabetic"-sauce.

I took the plate she gave me and placed it in front of me. I couldn't do anything else but stare at it. How much food did Sue think I could stuff inside me?

I started picking it apart, unable to take the first bite.

"Baby girl, are you okay? Do you want to eat something else?" Edward asked, concerned.

"No, babe, I'm fine," I said as lightly as I could, planting a fake smile on my face.

I thought about making up an excuse to skip on dinner, but couldn't lie to save my life, and I knew that Edward would see right through me. Plus, what acceptable excuse could I possibly come up with? I couldn't not eat –it was Thanksgiving for crying out loud! Esme, Sue and I spent all day cooking this.

So I ate…

_Bite by excruciating bite…_

I cut my turkey as little as I could and smeared the cranberry sauce all over the plate, trying to get as little of it as possible on the meat. I put the food in my mouth and almost moaned at the delicious flavor, but as I chewed on it, I couldn't help but think about where the flavor came from… _sugar, bread, fat_… I could actually feel my stomach distending with each bite I took.

The chatter at the table flowed naturally as we ate, mostly everyone complimenting the food, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. I was too focused on chewing each bite precisely twenty-one times. I read somewhere that if you chewed your food properly, digestion was easier, assimilating carbs better. Meaning it would fatten me less, plus no one would notice that I wasn't eating as much as them.

We were all finished with dinner, when Esme and Rose stood up to clear the dirty dishes. A moment later, they came out of the kitchen with pumpkin pie and whipped cream.

"Who wants desert?" Rose asked cheerily.

I was barely hanging on by a thread to my cool façade. Internally, I was freaking out, thinking about all the contents in my stomach that threatened to ruin everything I had been working so hard for in these past weeks.

Esme cut the pie and placed slices of it in plates, as Rose toppled each one with a generous amount of whipped cream and passed the plates around. Edward nudged me softly, offering me a serving.

"Oh, God, no. I'm so full, I couldn't fit a single crumb in my stomach if I wanted to," I said as I patted and rubbed my stomach dramatically. Edward just nodded and passed the plate along.

I sipped my water slowly as I watched everyone digging into the delicious pie with delighted expressions on their faces. Seth actually moaned, earning a discrete scowl from his mother. I watched as Edward took a bite into his mouth. A little smear of cream was left in the corner of his lips. I didn't know if I _craved _to lick it off him so badly because it was Edward or because I desperately wanted to taste the sweetness.

I needed to get out of there ASAP.

I excused myself from the table and walked to the bathroom as fast as I could without arousing suspicion. I shut the door behind me and locked it. I closed my eyes and leaned back against the door. I took a couple of deep breaths, willing myself to calm down, but the uneasiness wouldn't ebb.

I took a step forward to the sink, so I could see myself in the mirror. It surprised me that I still looked the same, but I felt different regardless. I could almost feel the fat in my stomach coursing through my body, settling in my arms, my thighs, my stomach, my face… surely if I let it stay there, that's what would inevitably happen.

The words that Carlisle said as he said grace returned to me vengefully, spinning around and around in my head with each movement I made.

_'Thank you God for letting us be together in your name this day, and enjoy this meal in health and wellness…'_

_'In your name…'_

_'Enjoy this meal…'_

_'Health and wellness…'_

I felt like such a hypocrite as I slowly knelt in front of the toilet. How could I be well and healthy if I had to do this, with my face so close to where everyone defecated? I was surely not doing it in God's name, but there was no other way.

_'Bless this food, Lord, and the hands that prepared it…_'

Reluctantly, I lifted my hand to my mouth and inserted two fingers into my mouth until it hit the back of my throat. I was scared and nauseated. I'd never done anything like this before… I never had to. I dry heaved and spit saliva. I almost started crying from the pain it caused in my stomach, but it didn't stop me from trying again.

_'Bless this food, Lord, and the hands that prepared it…'_

I inserted my fingers in my mouth once again, until I gagged. This time everything that Esme and Sue had cooked for all of us with so much love, went out of my body and into the toilet.

_'Bless this food, Lord, and the hands that prepared it…'_

My knuckles hurt from where my teeth were digging into them, and my throat felt raw as the acids burned it on their way up. But I did it again, and again, and again, until I felt my stomach completely empty.

Tears streamed down my face with the turmoil of emotions I had inside me. Guilt of throwing away all this food when so many people were starving in the world. Selfish, because I felt like I was flushing down the toilet all the love this family had given me. Unworthy, for lying to Rosalie. She had poured her heart out to me, thinking I was a better person.

But mostly… _mostly_… I felt _relieved_.

**Please leave me a review, letting me know what you thought or felt. Also, don't forget to stop by the ****thread of this story over on the Twilighted forum (Link on my profile). I would like to hear all your thoughts, theories, opinions, and suggestions. **

**I love recs. If you know of any good stories, let me know, I'm always looking for something to read, and you are actually an author, let me know! You know, I'll show you mine…**

**I'll try to rec stories that haven't had as much attention as they deserve. I mean, who doesn't know about "The University of Edward Masen"? It rocks my world, but it pretty much speaks for itself. **

_**Ladder to the Sun by Rosybud**_**  
H****ow can you die when you've never really lived? That's the problem Bella Swan faces when she's told she only has a year to live. Can she make up for a lonely, unhappy life in the short time she has left... and maybe find love too? ****All-human, EXB**

_**SNAFU**__**by trishd**_

**Edward is adopted at age 12 by Carlisle and Esme, after living a difficult life in Chicago. He becomes rebellious and difficult, not sure what he wants in life. He joins Officer's Candidate School and then later the Navy SEAL's. ****Graphic Lemons! **


	12. Prepare yourself

_**Hi! Thanks for hanging in there. **_

_**I am glad to announce we have a new member in this boat. Yes, I have a new beta, that in addition to Tiffanyanne3, works wonders to my writing. Thank you and welcome Mel, ****mcc101180! *claps***_

_**Tiff, you still rock my world. **_

__

**I own a big case of migrane, but Twilight, not. **

* * *

**Bellarina. Chapter 12**

**Edward:**

I was extremely tired.

Exhausted.

Mentally drained.

Totally and absolutely fucking _spent_.

When girls talk about shopping, they make it sound like it would be some blissful, freeing and almost orgasmic experience… It wasn't.

I had spent the last seven hours of my life searching all around New York City for _the_ perfect present for Bella –one that would say "Merry Christmas, Happy Anniversary and Congratulations! You did great in the Gala."

It wasn't the easiest thing to accomplish, since I had quit my part-time job when Bella moved in. That meant that I was short on money.

I couldn't wait to get home; my feet were killing me, and I was cold as fuck. The crisp, cold wind was almost cutting through my face, and even though I had on a pretty thick coat, I could still feel the chill in my bones. December was in full swing in New York City; you could almost taste the winter.

Unfortunately, December also meant finals for us. It had been tough, with me spending almost every evening at the library studying with Ben and Kate, and Bella rehearsing, as well as studying for her own tests.

I'd had my last final that morning, so as of two o'clock in the afternoon, I was officially a free man. I seized the opportunity to look for Bella's present. After our first year together, we –and by we, I mean Bella- decided that we wouldn't give gifts to each other on our anniversary. I knew she was a little embarrassed that she couldn't afford a present for our anniversary, and then another one for Christmas, but I really couldn't care less. I had her, and that was enough for me.

That didn't mean, though, that I didn't "cheat" a little bit by giving her an extra special gift on Christmas to make up for the one she didn't allow me to give to her. This time I really had to outdo myself, because this year, we also celebrated Bella's Gala. And I say celebrate, in all the sense of the word, because she deserved it. This Gala thing was turning into such a big deal for Bella. She was rehearsing almost non-stop, putting every bit of sentiment in her dancing. She had rehearsals at school early in the morning, then she came straight home to rehearse some more, and on weekends also. She was quite literally working her ass off for this

I'd only watched her while she rehearsed, and I could already tell that she would get a standing ovation. I know I'm a little biased since she's the love of my life and all that, but still, I could tell.

I stepped into our apartment, eager to see my baby girl. I was setting down my keys and messenger bag on the coffee table when I heard a loud "Jesus effing Christ!"

I chuckled to myself at Bella's "cursing" and started making my way to her studio. I thought it was a little weird that I hadn't heard her feet tapping, but I could still hear some mumbling.

I got a glimpse inside the studio as I approached, and my lips automatically stretched into a grin, seeing the image before me. Bella was surrounded by books and not really rehearsing –that was a first. What was a little comical, though, was her pose. She was reading some text, making funny faces that clearly said "_What_?" while flailing her arms around, trying to illustrate what she was reading.

"Hey bab—"

"—AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" She screamed, involuntarily throwing her book in the air. I almost jumped out of my skin from her shrieking.

"You almost gave me a heart attack. Have you ever heard of knocking?" She hissed at me when she recovered, clutching her hand to her chest.

"Umm… one, I never knock; two, I live here, so I really don't need to knock; and three, the studio's door was wide open, so it would be ridiculous to close it in order to be able to knock," I teased her.

"Oh… okay, good point, but still, you scared the living crap out of me! Godamnit!" she answered in an annoyed tone and pushed the rest of her books and notebooks away. She was acting really out of character. She was always a sweet person, and it wasn't like I scared her intentionally for her to be throwing tantrums like this.

"Bella? Is everything okay? Did something happen with that Jane bitch again?" I asked, concerned.

"No." She stood up gracefully, without using her arms for leverage, and started pacing the room like a caged lion. I just watched her, waiting for her to elaborate, afraid that if I so much as opened my mouth, she would snap my neck.

"You want to know what happened?" she asked suddenly. I nodded stupidly.

"Well... nothing much… nothing at all, really! It just happened that little Miss Tanya busted her ankle doing God knows what, and now I'm lead… me… _Me_! It's aaaall about me now, as if I needed the added pressure. Great, huh? Oh yeah, I'm just going to loooove all the _extra_-extra hours I'll have to rehearse because… I'm lead now, remember? And everyone will expect me to be perfect, comparing me to freaking _A_. But how the hell am I supposed to do that, Edward? Huh? How? I have to dance her part, and mine… and study on top of it! And I can't even figure out what the hell I'm reading in this goddamned freaking book!" She picked up the book from the floor, waved it at me, and threw it down again for dramatics' sake.

"Say what?" I couldn't, for the life of me, find words in my mind right then.

"God, Edward! Are you trying to drive me mad? I'm not going to repeat everything!"

"Umm, no, I heard you fine. It's just… you got the lead part…" I said tentatively, a small smile gracing my face.

"Yeah… I guess I did," she answered shyly, looking at her feet, but I could still hear the smile in her voice.

"Bella!" I lunged at her, trapping her with my arms and twirling her around. "You're going to be great! I'm so proud of you!"

"Don't…" she said in a small voice, while trying to push me away. I let her down gently but kept my arms around her. "It's not like I got the lead from the start. I'm just covering for Tanya's stupid ass." She tried to step away, but I held her tighter with one arm, while with my other, I started tracing the length of her arm, up her shoulder and neck, until I got to her beautiful face. Gingerly, I put my fingers under her chin and lifted it to meet my eyes.

"Baby girl, that's bullshit; you deserve this. I know you will be the best." I saw some moisture glistening in her eyes, but I knew she understood the sincerity of my words. As I lost myself in her gaze, my heart swelled with all the pride, admiration, awe… but most of all, the love I felt for her.

"God, I love you, stubborn woman." I knew she felt the same way, because as the words came out of my mouth, a single tear escaped her eyes, but not without a beautiful smile in her lips.

"Guess I love you too, stupid perfect boyfriend." We didn't need to utter recherché, ffancy or elaborate love names to know it was all true. I didn't need to call her "my reason for existing" to know she was much more than that. She was my everything.

"You better… so, what are you studying? Anything I can help you with?"

"Well, this is supposed to be 'Anatomy for dancers' but I think it would be easier to learn Mandarin Chinese," she answered with a frown between her brows.

"Umm, Bella, do you actually know what I go to school for?"

"Sure, pre-med," she replied without missing a beat, but as she said so, it dawned on her. "Oh… OH!"

"Yeah, oh! Silly girl, I could've helped you with this shit from the beginning. I may not be a dancer, but I think I know a thing or two about Anatomy."

"Is that an indirect proposition, Mr. Cullen?"

"And a direct one too. As much as I love to sex you up, let's get some actual knowledge inside that stubborn head of yours."

"Hmph… Okay… "She grumbled.

We started gathering her things that were scattered all over the studio, and then we sat Indian-style on the hardwood floor.

"I'm sorry, babe. I was just so caught up with the rehearsals and all, my mind didn't seem to connect ideas anymore," Bella said quietly, leaning her head against my shoulder.

"I know," I answered simply, stroking Bella's hair.

"I hate this subject. It's so boring, and the teacher is so ugh! Bland…boring! I can't describe it any other way, there's no other word. It's boring, period. I mean, why do I need to know every single muscle, joint and bone moving during an arabesque? The only thing I need to know is that it's beautiful." She started rambling, obviously getting distraught once again, and that was the opposite of what we needed.

"Okay, let's see what you got there."

.

*B*

.

"Bella! I'm getting tired over here…" This was not what I imagined I would be doing when I helped her study.

"Sorry!" she said in the most unapologetic tone. "It's just a little funny to see you doing _pliés_!" I would have laughed along with her if it had not been for the small fact that I was the object of her torture.

"Ha-ha, how very _comedienne_ of you…" I answered grumpily.

"Okay, okay, sorry… so where were we?" she replied, barely able to contain her giggles.

"You were telling me in what muscle this movement starts."

"Yeah… umm... quadriceps?" she responded, uncertain.

"Yes, good. Now, tell me what other muscles are involved in it?"

"Sure… um sol… sole… " I could see that we weren't getting anywhere like this.

"Let's do something a little bit different. Can you tell me where that muscle is?" I asked her, pointing at my thigh.

"This one right here?" she answered as she stroked my thigh and very slowly inched up. I flexed the muscle for good measure. Still, I had to clear my throat before I spoke—the evil minx knew exactly what she was doing.

"I said to just tell me, not grope me."

"I know, sorry. You distract me, and it's the _Quadriceps Femoris_." She giggled.

"So you were telling me, this movement involves the _Quadriceps Femoris_, and what else?"

"_Sartorius… Gracillis_…" she said huskily as her hand moved higher and higher…

"Errr… Umm… yeah and…"

"_Phallus_," she announced victoriously when she found my very hard cock.

"Fuck, baby girl," I lurched at her and attacked her with my lips. Her moans were barely audible from the lip-lock I had her in. With one leg between hers, I had my rock solid cock grinding against her thigh, and the friction was getting exponentially pleasurable.

"That's… not… a muscle," I choked out when Bella pulled away to breathe.

"But it still has contractility, excitability, extensibility, and elasticity, doesn't it?" she answered with her lips forming a delicious pattern on my neck.

"Sure it does; wanna test that hypothesis?" I started nestling myself between her thighs, and she was willingly opening up to me.

"I think it's mostly proven, but we can never be too certain." My shirt was suddenly gone from my shoulders, and Bella's swift fingers were already working on my pants.

"I think you have the law more than demonstrated, but we have all night to test it."

* * *

**_A/N._**

**_I know the answers that Bella gave to Edward were wrong. Do not fret my classically trained readers. But Bella is a bit clueless in that subject and Edward was being… well Edward, meaning delicious._**

**_Visit the Twilighted Forum sometime, I will post a teaser there, for anyone interested, as soon as it's ready. And I would love some recs... I'm always looking for something new to read. :)_**

**_And don't forget to click that little green button…_**

**_Glossary:_**

**_Alessandra Ferri is a retired Prima Ballerina Assoluta, which is the maximum grade a Ballerina can achieve. To be recognised as a Prima Ballerina Assoluta is a very rare honour, reserved only for the most exceptional soloists, usually those who have achieved international acclaim. There have only been 10 PBA in history since 1893, Ferri being the last one, named in 1992._**

**_Muscle has four major functional characteristics: contractility, excitability, extensibility, and elasticity. Contractility refers to the capacity of muscle to contract or shorten forcefully. Excitability means that muscle responds to stimulation by nerves and hormones, making it possible for the nervous system and, in some muscle types, the endocrine system, to regulate muscle activity. Extensibility means that muscles can be stretched to their normal resting length and beyond to a limited degree. Elasticity means that if muscles are stretched, they recoil to their original resting length._**


	13. Winter Wonderland

**Hello, hello my lovely readers ! Welcome to another episode of your favorite story! (I hope, *crosses fingers*) I promised another chapter before 2010 finished and I'm sorry I couldn't hold onto that, but here it is. **

**A huge thanks and shout out to my betas Mcc101180 and TiffanyAnne3. **

**Just a comment, people: Remember that this is FICTION. I'm researching as much as I can to make it believable, but I do NOT live in NY, nor am I an actual ballerina, so unfortunately some details could (and will) escape me. **

**I own a huge ass mug of delicious coffee but Twilight, I don't.**

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**Bellarina. Chapter 13**

**Bella:**

_Développe… Grand battement… _

My body seemed weightless as I danced to the music. My arms moved like actual wings, and I felt like a real swan. In that moment, I _was_ a real swan. Light, beautiful and free.

_Jete.. Jete… Attitude… _

I closed my eyes for a brief second and just let the soft notes flow through my body. It wasn't me anymore dictating my movements. I was merely floating in the melody—letting it guide my dancing.

I could feel the burn in my muscles and the strain of my joints, but it didn't hurt. I acknowledged the sensation and embraced it as a part of my being.

The tone of the music changed. From being playful and harmonic, it developed into something deeper and stronger. I prepared myself for the pirouettes.

The slight air in my face as I spun swiftly and the way I batted my swan wings made my body almost believe I was about to take off in flight. The music picked up one more time, even more passionate and intense than before. I twirled again and again, moving my arms up and down gracefully before ending in a clean attitude.

In that split second before I fully stopped and the music played the last note, my mind out of its own volition prepared itself for Mrs. Von Wobeser's harsh reprimands and Tanya's snarky comments… but the moment never came. Instead, a deafening roar filled my ears.

My dancing-i-induced haze quickly dissipated. I remembered where I was and what that thunderous noise was. I was in the Academy's A uditorium Principal. The noise was the sound of applause. Two thousand people applauding, to be more exact. Two thousand people applauding…_for me._

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It had been over for forty minutes now, and I was still in the dressing rooms. I couldn't believe it yet. It all seemed so surreal.

I had danced the lead part of Swan Lake in a crowded theater in New York City. I'd never thought I'd see the day. All those years practicing, all the hours rehearsing and every bit of sweat I'd put into it… I knew I still had a long way to go, but this was the beginning of it.

When I walked outside, through the performers' entrance, I saw Edward with a small, well trimmed bouquet of little, yellow flowers. My mom was standing next to him with her arm looped around his. Both of them had these looks on their faces, like they were shocked or in awe of something… _pride maybe?_

I was really happy to see my mom. Ever since she had remarried, we had grown apart, but I understood. She was young and newly married; it was only logical she wanted to enjoy her new husband. However, it had been over a year since I last saw her. Granted, we spoke regularly on the phone, but I still missed her spontaneous comments, eccentric point of view, and generally just her bubbly self.

I started walking faster and faster until I was running toward them. When I was barely at arm's length, I threw myself at my mother. The force of the impact made us stagger a bit, but luckily, Edward caught us before we crashed onto the floor.

"Bella, sweetie, you were great, I'm so proud of you," my mother murmured against my hair.

"I'm glad you could make it, Mom. I know you had to leave Phil all alone…"

With that, my mother broke apart from our embrace. I instantly felt ashamed that I had ruined our special moment with a poorly thought out comment, but then she gently lifted my chin with her fingers and looked at me with the most warm and loving gaze.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. You are my baby, my little girl, _my daughter_. You mean everything to me, Bella. I know that we haven't seen each other much, and that we've become distant over time. But that doesn't mean I love you any less. I could never do that. You have a new life here. You have to find your own way and fight your own battles. And when you win, I want to be able to share it with you. Even if you don't, I'll be there for you… I'll _always_ be there for you, my baby. How could I not be here today?" A tear was running down her cheek, and when she softly swiped her fingers across my cheek, I realized I was crying too.

"I love you, Mom." I could have given her a big speech; there was so much I wanted to say to her, both good and bad. But those three simple words were enough.

"And I love you, little one. Now let's cheer up! This is a happy occasion!"

"These are for you, Bella," Edward said, as he offered me the bouquet. I took the flowers from him with one hand, and I wrapped my other one around his neck. He held me around the waist and pulled me closer to him. I kissed him softly and lovingly… rather short and chaste too, since we were in the presence of my mother.

"Thank you, babe," I said against his lips. There was no need for words; the sweet smile on his face told me everything I needed to hear.

"They mean success, you know," he blurted out.

"Huh?"

"The flowers, yellow poppies. They mean success. And I think you achieved that tonight. You were… amazing. I can't find a better word. I almost couldn't believe it was you. "

"Almost? What made you believe it then?"

"Baby girl, I could recognize those mile-l-ong legs anywhere," he responded in a smug tone, as he shot me a dirty look, waggling his eyebrows.

"Hmm… and here I was, thinking that maybe… I don't know… my face, or probably my _freaking name _in the program would give you a clue…" I answered, feigning offense.

"Oh yeah, that too." Luckily my mother had wandered away to chat with Mrs. A, one of my teachers.

"Such a charmer…"

"Yep. Charmed the pants off of you in no time… Come on, woman. Stop fighting with me, and let's get your mother fed." He wrapped his arm around me as he steered us toward where my mother was standing. I leaned my cheek against his side and closed my eyes for a second.

"I love you, Edward," I whispered against his shirt.

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After leaving the Academy, Edward, my mom and I went for some takeout from a cute little deli gourmet shop close by. I suggested it, since I didn't want my mom to worry about my eating habits, and they couldn't tell me that ordering a salad was "out of character" for me, since salads were half the menu in the place.

We ate in our apartment, bantering back and forth. It was remarkable how my own mother, my own _flesh and blood_, could tease me like she had. She was even worse than Stefan! I reached my breaking point when she started asking Edward if we had christened the studio yet. Apparently mirror sex was "fuck hot." Of course I knew that from experience… but it wasn't something I was willingly sharing with my mother.

A while later, Edward went to take a shower as my mom and I cleaned up the kitchen. I was washing the dishes, while she dried them and put them away.

"You're so serious now," she suddenly said.

"Me? _I'm_ serious?"

"I mean you and Edward, your relationship."

"Mom, our relationship has always been serious."

"I just… hadn't seen it before. You're so in tune with each other, you orient yourselves around each other like magnets… or gravity..." The tone of her voice changed as her mind seemed to wander off.

"That's just silly, Mom… are you reading mysteries now? Or is it sci-fi?" I tried to brush her off, but sometimes her simple view just cut right through the truth of things.

"Yeah, but that's beside the point," she answered, clearing her throat. Her dreamy tone disappeared, and she was back to Serious Mom Mode. "What I was trying to say is that I thought that he was just a high school sweetheart, and that you would grow out of it."

"Mom!" The plate I was rinsing slipped through my fingers at her comment. It clinked loudly against the other dishes in the sink, but luckily it didn't break. "How can you say that? I know we're young and all, and we're not getting married any time soon, but I honestly don't see myself with anyone else but him. Edward's the love of my life," I answered softly.

"That's what I thought about your dad… and then about Steve… then about John…"

"Okay, okay! I get the picture. But we've been together for three years, and I still feel butterflies in my stomach when I'm expecting him to come home. He still makes me melt with his sweetness and his gestures… It still feels… _new_."

"I know that now," she said, smiling softly. "It just hurts to see that you're such a grown up woman. You know, I think he could be proposing any minute now."

"It's four, you know." Edward's deep voice startled both of us.

"Edward! Didn't you mother tell you not to eavesdrop?" I yelped.

"Four what, honey?" my mother asked sweetly, not noticing my embarrassment at all.

"Four years. She said that we've been together for three years. But as of today it's four," he elaborated.

"Oh my god! Edward! Our anniversary! How could I forget?" I started wiping down my hands on my jeans frantically, my mind rushing at a thousand thoughts per second, trying to figure out how to make this up to him. I had pasta in the cupboard, and I think some ground meat in the freezer. I could fix up some Bolognese and—

"Baby girl, it's okay. Just seeing you dance like today was enough of an anniversary gift for me." God, now I feel like the worst girlfriend ever.

"God… I'm the worst girlfriend ever." And now, I even lack a brain-to-mouth filter.

"No, you're not. Renee, you mind if I steal her away for a while?"

"Not at all, sweetheart. I was actually going to call it a night. I'm really tired." She almost got me for a second, but her exaggerated wink was a tell-tale sign of her obvious conspiracy with Edward.

"Where are we going?" I asked for the tenth time in the last five minutes.

"Just around," he replied nonchalantly.

"Edward!" I whined. "You do remember I _hate_ surprises?"

"Jesus Christ, you're such a killjoy! We're going skating at Rockefeller Center. Happy now?" he finally relented exasperatedly.

"Yes, thank you." I pecked his cheek before panicking thoughts occurred to me. "But do you think it's a good idea? You know, plus it's 11:00 on Christmas Eve, we're going to be in line forever, they might even close before we get our turn and—"

"Isabella, you twirled twenty-three times in a row, without swaying once. You're going to pull that 'ice, skates and Bella Swan don't mix' bullshit now?"

"It was twenty-five times, thank you very much, and that was ballet, not figure skating, so you better not let me fall, Edward Cullen," I said with finality.

"I would never, baby girl."

I didn't know how Edward had pulled this off. We had completely bypassed the waiting line—that was impossibly long. He already had some very special-l-ooking tickets that he handed to a guy who was surprisingly waiting for us at the exit staircase.

No more than fifteen minutes later, we were twirling and sliding happily on the ice. Both of our butts were wet from falling down a couple of times. It had been a long time since we laughed like this. With all the stress about school, we had kind of forgotten the playful part of our relationship, and I missed it.

"Bella?" Edward called me.

I turned around, to see that he had lost the playfulness in his expression.

"Happy anniversary, baby girl," he said as he reached into his pocket, taking out a small white box with a pink bow. My eyes widened, and I think my heart missed a beat.

"…_any minute now…" My mother had said. Proposing… Engaged… Married… Wedding_…

"Don't go all _Runaway Bride_ on me. I'm not proposing yet, Bella…" he said, rolling his eyes at me and effectively cutting off my inner freak-out.

"Oh… Okay." I took the box from him and opened it slowly. Inside was a beautiful, simple ring. It was silver with the shape of two ballerinas.

"This isn't an engagement ring, but I do want it to represent my commitment and my full devotion to you. I haven't forgotten, Bella, all the promises I've made to you. I want us to remember this day for the rest our lives, because what I saw today, what _you_ did today…" He sighed and took a deep breath before continuing with an even more determined voice.

"WWe're getting there… with every day that passes by our dreams are getting within reach. We're halfway to our someday and I promise to be by your side until we reach the finish line, and even further after that." Edward took the ring out of the box and slid it smoothly on the third finger of my right hand.

"Edward…" I whispered. I couldn't find words beautiful enough to convey my feelings for him in that moment. What do you respond to the most romantic, thoughtful and sweet gesture ever given to you?

"I don't… I… I love you, Edward, I really do." I wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging onto him for dear life. His words and his gesture, although simple, was the most perfect thing in the world. In that moment, I couldn't believe that such a perfect man was mine.

"_My life is brilliant_…" he sang as he started swaying us softly to the music.

"Edward? _What_ did you _do_?" I asked him as I recognized the opening words of the song we danced to at his prom. I took a moment to look around and noticed that there was no one around us. This started to smell fishy… and _expensive_.

"I _may_ have made some arrangements," he replied nonchalantly.

"_What_ arrangements?"

"Shut up, woman, and dance with me."

_My life is brilliant._

_My love is pure._

_I saw an angel._

_Of that I'm sure._

_She smiled at me at the diner._

_She was with an ugly truck._

"Hey! The song doesn't say that! And my truck wasn't ugly, it was a classic!"

"Yeah, classic trash. And you did smile at me at the diner, remember? It was the first time I saw you."

_But I won't lose no sleep on that,_

_'Cause I've got a plan._

_You're beautiful. You're beautiful._

He screamed the lyrics in a mock falsetto voice, faking a microphone with his fist. I played along and danced dramatically, looking every bit as ridiculous as him.

_You're beautiful, it's true._

_I saw your face in a crowded place,_

As the chorus slowed down, he grabbed me by the waist and dipped me. He sang the last verses sweetly, looking directly into my eyes.

_And I don't know what to do,_

_'Cause I'll always be with you._

"Stop changing the words," I whispered against his lips.

"But aren't they true?" he said before kissing me.

Yes, they were. What else could I ask from life?

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_**Edward bought an "engagement on ice package" It's real! I researched it! LOL… Although they didn't get engaged, it certainly served its purpose of getting a ring on a girl's finger :P**_

_**So thank you very much for reading! I would like to invite you all to visit the thread of this story over at Twilighted (link in my profile). I'm posting teasers there, and you can ask me questions, give out your theories or comment anything you want about the story.**_

_**I will also post in my profile pictures and videos for the chapters. I know I haven't updated those since chapter 5, but I will. There's this awesome video of the part I envisioned Bella dancing, and I'm dying to share it with you.**_

_**Please! Review!**_


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